Tia's Story: Book 4
by niceracheal
Summary: After phoning Naomi's boat, Tia thinks she may actually be going home. But is home really where she wants to be? In Flashforward discover Tia's future as one of the Oceanic Seven and learn how she got to be there. Meet the members of the freighter Crew, who are not as trusting as one might think. And will Tia choose to go with Jack or Locke after learning a new secret from Charlie?
1. Day 91: Choices

"Hey Hurley? Have they phoned home yet?" I ask him, worried about Charlie and Desmond.

"Hold on, I'll check." He pulls the walkie up to his mouth. "Jack? You there dude? Beach to Jack, come in Jack. Beach to Jack."

"Right here, Hurley, what's up?" Jack answers.

"Hey. Did you guys make it to that radio tower thingy yet?"

"Yeah, and I talked to the people on the boat, they're on their way to pick us up right now."

"Seriously? It worked?" Hurley asks, looking at me, not daring to get too hopeful.

"Seriously, we're all on the way back to the beach right now, so you better pack your bags buddy."

"Hahaha!" Hurley laughs, hugging me around the shoulders. "Dude that's great! Woohoo!"

I walk back over to the group. "What do you say, Bazooka Jane?" Sawyer says to me, holding two DHARMA beer cans. "How 'bout we toast this momentous occasion?"

"Is that the stuff from the pallet or the stuff you guys found in the jungle?" I ask.

"Pallet," he says, tossing me a can. I catch it and open it, the rank smell coming out of the tap. It's warm and flat, but it's beer. Sawyer gets closer and we clank our cans. I look out to the water and see Hurley do a cannonball into the ocean as Bernard chuckles at him and I smile, happy that we finally have something to celebrate.

But in the distance, I see the outrigger canoe that Karl lent Charlie and Desmond to go to the Looking Glass station.

But I only see one person in it.

Sawyer sees him too and we run to the outrigger. Everyone else runs up to him, and Hurley gets out of the water. "Are you alright Desmond?" Sayid asks him, pulling the outrigger to shore.

"We need to get to Jack," Des says frantically. "We can't let him get in touch with that boat."

"Easy, Scottie, everything's cool, boat's on the way." Sawyer tells him.

"What? On the way? No," Des exclaims, starting to panic.

"Hey where's Charlie?" Hurley asks, but he's ignored.

"No that woman, Naomi, she lied. The people on the boat aren't who they say they are!"

"What are you talking about, Des?" I ask.

"Then who are they?" asks Sawyer.

"Desmond, where's Charlie?" I hear Hurley ask again.

Des ignores him and answers us first. "I don't know but we need to get in touch with Jack, now!"

"It's alright," Juliet says. 'We can call him, we have a walkie. It's okay."

"Where is it? Get it," Des tells her.

"Where's Charlie?!" Hurley shouts and we all look over at him.

Desmond just shakes his head. "I'm, I'm sorry brother. I...," but he can't finish the sentence.

He doesn't have to. We know from his tone that Charlie is gone.

We stand in silence for about a minute. I turn back to Desmond. We need to get back on track. "Desmond, how do you know these people aren't who they say they are?"

"Charlie was in the communication room with the blinking yellow light. The station wasn't flooded like we thought it was. He turned off the switch and there must have been a transmission trying to come through and Charlie opened the channel and Penny was on the other line. She didn't know who Naomi was and she doesn't have a boat."

"So you talked to her?" I ask.

"No, only Charlie. He shut himself up in the room. Our mate with the eye patch—,"

"Mikhail?" Sayid asks bitterly. "Locke killed Mikhail."

"Well, he didn't do a very good job then, brother, because he blew himself up with a grenade. Charlie was in the room and the porthole busted open and he drowned."

"But you said you never spoke to Penny. How do you know all of this?" I ask.

"Charlie wrote on his hand 'not Penny's boat'. Showed it to me through the window of the door."

"That's it," Sawyer says, picking up the walkie. "Look, we gotta call the Doc."

"Did you listen to Desmond?" Sayid says. "Charlie wrote on his hand."

"Look I'm sorry he's dead. But I don't even know what the hell 'not Penny's boat' means."

"Calling Jack accomplishes nothing," Sayid says.

"It would accomplish warning him," Juliet argues.

"It also means warning the people on the freighter that we're suspicious of them. I've no doubt they're monitoring our communications, if we call Jack—,"

"You know what? I got the walkie, I'm making the call," Sawyer says, pushing the talk button. But Hurley grabs it from his hand before he can say anything. "Hey!" he exclaims.

Hurley chucks the walkie into the sea and we all stare at him. "We better get going," he says, heading for his pack.

"Going where?" Sawyer yells.

His comment is ignored as we all head over to our supplies. The guns have already been divvied up and I got the glock. I check to see if it's loaded and I add a few bullets to the magazine.

"What the hell's gotten into you, Hugo?" Sawyer asks Hurley. "They'll all be back in the morning, if you just wait."

"You don't wait with warnings dude, you warn."

Sawyer picks up his rifle and slings it up on his shoulder. "And here I was thinking I was gonna get a good night's sleep."

* * *

><p>We walk for a few hours and night falls soon, covering us in darkness, except for the torches me manage to light. And it takes a while before I notice something was wrong.<p>

"Guys, where's Hurley?" I ask. Sayid stops at the head of the group and turns his head, as do Juliet, Sawyer, Bernard, Jin, and Desmond.

"Hurley!" Sayid yells, but there's no response. "We can't find him in the dark," he says.

We walk a little bit further and we come up to a large piece of place wreckage. "What is this?" Bernard asks.

"It's the cockpit of the plane," I say, noticing the front window and the large brown stain of blood there from when the pilot, Seth Norris was ripped from the inside by the monster on our second day here.

We hear a shuffling of underbrush from behind us and we raise our guns. Hurley comes out of the jungle, followed by John Locke, carrying a torch. "Where the hell have you been, Hugo?" Sawyer asks him.

"Sorry, I was just um... I got lost," Hurley says

"What are you doing here?" I say to Locke, not lowering my gun.

"I came here for the same reason you did, to warn Jack about the people on that boat. I already gave it a shot, but, I figured I might have better luck with some support."

"You want our support?" Sayid asks him, his gun on Locke as well. "You can tell me why you destroyed that submarine."

Locke is about to answer when we hear voiced behind us. We turn and the rest of our group is there, the ones who went to the radio tower. Sun and Jin find each other, as do Rose and Bernard. Hurley walks up to Claire, who is craning her neck, looking for Charlie. "He's dead," Hurley says to her, his voice breaking out in tears. "Charlie's dead."

Claire starts to cry and Hurley holds her and Aaron in his arms as they weep for their friend. "What, what happened?" she asks, choking out the words. "I mean, how, how did he…?"

"He was trying to help us," Hurley says.

I notice Rousseau in the large group of castaways, holding a rope that ties the hands of Ben together. It's the first time I've seen him since the hatch. Since he lied to me and told me his name was Henry Gale. Then Sayid, Ana Lucia, Charlie, and I had caught him in the act and tried to get the truth, but he just tried to cover up with more lies. His face is beaten bloody, similar to the last time I saw him, but this blood is fresh.

I see Jack advance towards my group, but his destination is Locke and he punches him in the face. Jack knocks him to the ground and Locke pulls out a pistol and the two struggle for it. But Jack gets it in his grasp and points it at Locke's head, cocking the chamber.

"Jack!" Juliet protests.

"You're not gonna shoot me, Jack," Locke says. "Not any more than I was gonna shoot—,"

But he's cut off as Jack pulls the trigger. But it doesn't work. No bullet comes out. "It's not loaded," Locke explains.

Jack makes to attack him with his fists, but Sawyer and Sayid intervene, pulling Jack off of Locke.

"Let go of me!" Jack yells. "Do you know what he did?"

"Yes, I know what he did!" Sayid shouts.

Locke stands up and starts to explain. "All I did, all I have ever done, has been in the best interest of all of us."

"Are you insane?" Jack yells at him

"I know I have a lot of explaining to do. But, I never did anything to hurt any of you. I even risked my life to tell you there was a traitor in your midst," he says, pointing to Juliet.

"She helped us, John. All you ever did was blow up every chance we had of getting off of this island. You killed Naomi." I turn back to Locke. I was going to forgive him for defecting to the Others and leaving me helpless in their Barracks, but now, not only has he destroyed Sayid's communication equipment and blown up the submarine, he's killed the one person who could get us off the Island.

I realize Charlie said that this isn't Penny's boat. I don't know why these people are here, but they have a boat and they have a way off of this damned Island.

"Well, technically," Ben says. "He didn't kill her, yet."

"Yes, he did," Kate says, coming out of the jungle. "She just died. She didn't give you up, John. She covered for us, and she fixed this." She hands the satellite phone to Jack. "They're on their way."

"She didn't cover for anyone," Locke says. "She wants her people to come here. And trust me, when they do we had better be far away from here. I'm going to the Barracks. The Others abandoned them. It's the only place on the Island with any form of security right now, it'll have to do until I can think of something else. Until then, if you wanna live, you need to come with me."

"No one's going anywhere with you, John," Jack says. "Because they're not crazy."

"He's not crazy," Hurley says, speaking up. "What about Charlie? Charlie went down to that place so we could all be rescued. And whatever he did down there, it worked. But then something must have happened. He must have heard something before he... I don't know why, but he changed his mind. Because the last thing he did was to warn us that the people on that boat are not who they said they were. So I'm not listening to you. I'm listening to my friend. I'm listening to Charlie." Hurley goes and stands beside Locke.

"Anyone else?" Locke asks. "There isn't much time."

A handful of people including Claire, Karl, and a young girl with brown hair move over to Locke's side. One of them hold's Vincent's leash. Rousseau starts to walk over, still leading Ben. "Jack, with your permission, I'd like to go with John," Ben says.

"He's all yours," Jack says.

Two more people join, as does Sawyer and by this one, I'm surprised. Should I go with Locke? I want off of this Island so bad. I want to get back to my brothers and Gran. But I no longer believe that the people on the boat are good. Hurley's speech was very convincing but Charlie gave his life so that the people on the boast could find us. Going with Locke makes that seem like it's all in vain. I notice Desmond stays with Jack's group. That makes up my mind. This was supposed to be Desmond's rescue, not ours, and if he says with Jack, then that's good enough for me.

I'm staying with Jack.

"You know where to find us when you change your mind," Locke says, leading is group North.

* * *

><p>The rest of us start heading back to the beach. Jack and Kate stay behind at the cockpit and I don't see them return.<p> 


	2. Flashforward: Family Reunion

Honolulu, Hawaii

I couldn't stop my hands from shaking. All I wanted was to be back on the ground, safe. Not in the air. I didn't think being in a plane again would make me this nervous, but it does.

Jack, Sun, Sayid, Hurley, and Kate with Aaron in her lap sit around me in the tiny cargo hold of the tiny Coast Guard Plane.

"We're coming in for a landing," Karen Decker tells us. She's a representative of Oceanic Airlines and she's transporting us to Honolulu for a press conference. But first, we get to see our families. I've been waiting to see Gil and Donny since the crash, but now that it's actually happening, I feel a little nauseous. I didn't approve my father for visitation to the Air Force base they're taking us to. I don't want to see him.

"It's a military facility just west of Honolulu," Mrs. Decker says. "It's completely private. Your families are already here. Now there's a lot of press that wanna speak to you, but as far as Oceanic is concerned, you don't have to speak to any reporters."

"We'll talk to 'em," Jack says to her.

"Is that all right with all of you?" she asks us, looking around. We say nothing. I don't know if I'm ready to do this. To lie to the whole world. I've already lied to Karen Decker and my stomach is in knots.

"It's fine. We all agreed," Jack says. "We just…we just wanna get it over with."

"Okay," Mrs. Decker says. "Um, they're referring to you as the 'Oceanic Seven'. That's not the best branding as far as we're concerned, but it's catchy. We'll see you on the ground."

As Mrs. Decker walks away, Jack turns back to us six. "We all know the story. If we get any questions that we don't wanna answer, or that we can't answer, let's just keep our mouths shut. It's okay. They'll think that we're in shock."

"We are in shock, Jack," Sun says.

"Well, then this should be easy."

I feel the plane start to descend and the sound of the wheels touching relaxes my stomach. My hands are still shaking in anticipation of seeing my brothers.

Jack unbuckles his seatbelt and the rest of us follow his lead. I stand, my legs barely holding me up. This is it. Will there be cameras? Will I have to put on a brave face? I don't know if I can.

The hanger of the plane opens up and outside I see a bright light. My eyes adjust and I walk off the plane, behind Hurley. I see him raise his arms happily and let out a laugh as his pace quickens to reach his loved ones.

I break the door and look around. An old Korean couple that must be Sun's parents. A Latino couple; Hurley's family. An older woman, near the front. And over to the right…

Gil's face breaks out in a huge smile and he waves at me. Donny looks like he's trying to smile, but tears flow from his eyes. A woman with a baby bump stands next to them, looking slightly uncomfortable. I recognize her from photographs as Sonja, Gil's fiancée. Or is she his wife now?

I don't want to hold up everyone behind me, but my feet won't move as I'm overcome with emotion. "It's okay," I hear Kate say behind me and she gives me a little push.

That's all it takes and I run into Gil's arms, wrapping my own around his neck, soaking his shirt in tears. "It's okay," he says, stroking my back. "You're home now. Your home."

I open my eyes and see Donny standing there, but I can't let go of Gil. I open up and stretch out my left arm, and Donny fits his way in. Here we are. The Samuels Three. Eventually I regain my breath and break away. "We must look like idiots," I say, wiping my face.

Gil chuckles. "Tia, this is Sonja," he says, grabbing her hand and bringing her forward.

"It's nice to meet you," I say, grabbing her in a hug. Before the crash, I was not a hugger. But after everything I've gone through, human comfort is like a drug to me. It's why hugging Sawyer had become such a habit of mine.

Dammit, don't think about Sawyer or Jin or Juliet. Don't even think about those guys from the freighter. I can't handle that right now.

"So are you two married now?" I ask, eyeing the baby bump.

"Um, Tia," Gil says, patting the back of his head. Sonja looks at the ground. "We asked the Oceanic guys not to tell you this. We wanted to do it."

"What are you talking about?" I ask, noticing Donny's face fall to the ground like Sonja's did, all traces of tears gone.

"Tia, Dad um…Dad died."

My head jerks up. "What?"

"Dad thought you'd run away," Donny says. "Gran didn't know where you were and Dad had made you promise to stay in Australia, but he never actually expected you to stay. It wasn't until they released the names off of the flight manifest that we knew where you were. And Dad…he swallowed a bunch of pills. OD'ed on oxycodone."

"So he's gone?" I ask.

"Yeah, we've got a lot to talk about in that department," Gil says. "I'm sorry we had to lay this on you right before a press conference."

Oh crap, the press conference. Damn Jack for making this ruse plausible from the get-go.

"Hey, Tia," I hear Hurley call my name. I turn around and he's leading a dumpy looking woman over to me on his arm. A small man follows them, as well as Sayid. "This is my mom, Carmen."

"Aye, it is so good to meet you," she says in a thick Spanish accent, reaching up to my face and pulling it down so she can kiss my cheek.

"And this is my dad," he says, pulling the small man forward.

"David," the man says, extending a hand. I grasp it with difficulty as Carmen has started to straighten my jacket that she wrinkled.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes," I say. "These are my brothers, Donny and Gil, and Gil's fiancée Sonja. This is Hurley and Sayid," I tell my family, and both sides shake hands.

It's weird. After one hundred and eight days I pictured my past and my present completely separate. Donny and Gil were on one end and the Island was on the other. I never expected to two to merge.

I'm introduced to Jack's mother, Margo and I introduce Jack and Kate to Donny, Gil, and Sonja. Sonja is especially interested in Aaron. Must be the pregnancy thing. I make it to Sun last, whose parents don't really seem interested in meeting me. And she's weary of meeting my family. Ever since Jin…well, she hasn't been the same.

"Excuse me," Karen Decker says, cutting in. "We're going to need to head to the conference now. The press are getting a little edgy."

* * *

><p>An Oceanic employee directs me into a chair that has a nametag and a glass of water in front of it, in between Sun and Hurley. Behind me is a giant screen projecting the image of the Oceanic logo. I'm extremely on edge. I look at the glass of water. I wouldn't mind a drink, but I'm afraid if I grab the glass, I might drop and break it.<p>

Karen Decker walks up to a podium off to the side of our table and the press conference begins. "Welcome to the first interview to be conducted with the survivors of Oceanic 815. You've all been given briefing packets with information about the crash and its victims. But we will allow time for a recap before taking questions." She starts to tell our story, using the screen behind us to project maps and picture for the press to follow. "Based on the location of the wreckage, our best estimate of the crash site is...here. From there, the survivors were carried by the ocean's current to...here-an uninhabited island in the Lesser Sunda Islands known as Membata. As you've all read in your briefing books, on day one hundred and three a typhoon washed up the remnants of an Indonesian fishing boat, including basic supplies and a survival raft. On day one hundred and eight, the remaining seven survivors, including Ms. Austen's baby which she gave birth to on the island of Membata, used this raft to journey here…an island called Sumba. They then came ashore near a village called Manukangga. This photo was taken by the local fisherman who found them. Once it was discovered who they were, they were transported to Honolulu by the U.S. Coast Guard. As you can imagine, this has been an extraordinarily trying experience. They have, however, agreed to answer a few questions. So, ladies and gentlemen, the survivors of Oceanic eight-one-five."

All at once the cameras start flashing, disorienting me for a few seconds, and the reporters raise their hands and shout to get called on. Mrs. Decker chooses one and the Q&A starts.

"Dr. Shephard! Dr. Shephard! Can you tell us what it was like when the plane hit the ocean? Uh, how you survived."

"Um... It…it all happened really fast," Jack says. "I remember the impact. I remember the…the plane filling up with water. A group of us got to the emergency door, and, um... got out before it went down."

"And those of you who survived. You swam to the island?"

"No. We had, uh, cushions. We had some life jackets. We were in the water for over a day before the current took us in. By then, there was only nine of us left."

The reporters struggle to get called on again and Mrs. Decker chooses another.

"Ms. Samuels, can you tell us what happened to the other three survivors?"

Of all the questions I could have gotten, this is what I get? I take a deep breath to steady my voice before talking. "One of them, her name was Libby, I never learned her last name. She suffered internal injuries and died a few days after we made it to the island. Boone Carlyle, he was climbing a tree about four weeks in. He fell and landed badly, breaking his neck. And Charlie Pace, he drowned a few weeks before we were able to leave."

The reporters struggle again. "Considering the ordeal that you've all been through, you look pretty healthy having been on an island for more than a hundred days."

"Was that directed at me, Dude?" Hurley asks, loosening the tension.

"Well, actually, Mr. Reyes, you were worth more than one hundred and fifty million dollars at the time of your... death. How does it feel to know you're going to get all that money back?"

"I don't want it back, any of it. That money was bad luck."

A Korean reporter asks her question next and everyone struggles to translate what she says.

"She asked if my husband was one of the people who died on the island," Sun translates. "The answer is no. He never made it off the plane."

An Arabic reporter is chosen next. "Are you aware of the situation in Iraq, Mr. Jarrah? Do you have any plans to return?"

"There is nothing for me in Iraq," Sayid answers.

"And Mr. Shephard," the same reporter continues. "Now that you are home, what are your plans?"

"I haven't really thought too much about it, uh - my father died in Sydney, I was bringing him home for the funeral when the plane crashed. Even though the body is...I'd like to put him to rest."

"Ms. Austen. What was it like giving birth on the island?"

"Scary," Kate says.

"Your son-uh, Aaron? How old is he now?"

"He's just a little over 5 weeks."

"So that would've made you about six months pregnant when the U.S. Marshal service apprehended you in Australia for an outstanding murder warrant. Is that correct?"

Mrs. Decker cuts in. "Uh, I'm afraid Ms. Austen's legal issue is off the table. Next question."

"Mr. Jarrah, given the amazing circumstances surrounding the survival of you seven, is it possible there are any other survivors from the crash yet to be discovered?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"And Ms. Samuels, I know this has already been asked of Dr. Shephard, but what about you? What are your plans now that you've returned home?"

"Um, like Jack I haven't really thought about it. My brother is getting married, and I'm very much looking forward to that. And also like Jack, my father has passed." I notice Donny's jaw drop at my mentioning this. "So there will obviously be arrangements set in place now that I'm back."

A couple more fluff questions and we're lead off the stage by Mrs. Decker. I notice that my hands have stopped shaking and my breathing has steadied. I earn a wink from Hurley. I'm about to ask Sayid if he'd like to join my family and me for dinner, since he had none show up at the base, but Mrs. Decker escorts his out of the building.

Donny, Gil, and Sonja wait for me and then, I'm back on a plane with Jack, Kate, Aaron, Hurley, and their families, headed back to Los Angeles.


	3. Day 92: Chopper

"Jack still isn't back," Juliet says to Sayid and I. "Anything?" Sayid stands looking out at the ocean for the freighter. I'm cleaning my new glock.

"No. But it's a big Island," Sayid says. "The freighter could be approaching from the other side."

"That's the spirit."

"Juliet, you lived amongst the Others. Why would Ben say the people coming here intend to do us harm?"

"Because he's a liar. And he's trying to scare us, that's what Ben does. Or, because the people coming here intend to do us harm." Juliet bends down next to me. "How many guns do you have left, Tia?"

"Sawyer only took the one. We still have five."

"Perhaps it would be wise of us to make sure Jack and Kate are alright out there," she says.

"I couldn't agree more," Sayid says. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Out in the jungle Juliet proves to be a fair tracker and we get Jack and Kate's trail almost instantly, but a third and fourth pair of boots accompany theirs. It doesn't take long and we spot them through the trees, keeping our distance. Jack and Kate are with a skinny man with a beard and a Chinese man through the jungle, the latter leading the way by a map on the sat phone. I notice that both of them have guns.<p>

I make eye contact with Jack so that he knows we're here. Eventually, we're lead to Naomi's body, lying in the ground. The Chinese man kneels down beside her.

"The light is strange out here, isn't it?" the skinny man with the beard says, holding his glock in a very un-practiced way. "It's kinda, like, it doesn't scatter quite right."

"Dan, your name's Dan, right?" Kate says to him and he nods. "Listen, Dan. I know that you don't want anybody to get hurt, right? So why don't you just put that away?" She motions to the gun.

"Because, um, Miles would kill me," he says. I assume the Chinese guy is Miles.

"We're just trying to help."

"Kate, you're wasting your breath," Jack says to her. "Why don't we just let this play out and see what happens, okay?"

Miles stands up. "They didn't kill her. Happened like they said it did."

The sat phone beeps and Dan looks at it.

"It's Charlotte, only three kilometers from here."

"Alright then, let's go get her," Miles says, starting to move, but Jack and Kate don't follow. "I said let's go," Miles repeates.

"You need to put the guns down," Jack says.

"Now why would I do that?"

"Because our friends are out in the jungle right now holding a gun at your head, and his head. So I'm gonna forget about the misunderstanding. Just put the guns down." I follow Jack's lead and point my gun at Miles's head. Sayid covers him as well and Juliet holds Dan's head.

"Come on, how stupid do you think I—,"

But Miles is cut off as Sayid fires a bullet right above his head. He and Dan duck at the gunfire, but Kate and Jack stand their ground. Kate grabs Dan's gun out of his hand while he's distracted. Sayid, Juliet, and I emerge from the trees, making our presence known, my gun still on Miles's head.

"I don't know, Miles, how stupid are ya?" Jack says, talking the gun from his hand.

"Listen," Dan says, holding up his hands. "We just want to find the rest of our team. We know where Charlotte is, can't we find her, please?"

"Fine," Jack says, lowering his gun. "Lead the way." He turns to Juliet. "How did you guys know to come find us?"

"We were worried when you didn't get back so we went out to the cockpit and tracked you from there."

"Thanks for that, for what it's worth."

"Don't mention it."

"Someone could have told me that the cavalry were here," Kate says.

"I gave you that…that wink," Jack says, stuttering and Juliet grins.

I move up to Sayid, who's following Miles and Dan, who are leading the way by tracker on the sat phone. "What are your names?" he asks them.

"I'm Daniel Faraday, and this is Miles—,"

"Don't tell him my last name!"

"I guess it's just Miles."

"What do you do for a living, Daniel?" Sayid asks.

"I'm a physicist. Well, I guess you could call me a physicist, I don't really like being pigeon-holed into one—,"

"Dan, I swear to God, you say one more word, I'm gonna break your fingers," Miles threatens. I'm really not liking this guy.

"What do you do, Miles?" Sayid asks him.

"I collect soil samples."

"Oh, that's nice. Well, maybe you can help me. You say you're not here on a rescue mission, and the world at large believes us to be dead. But here we are alive and well, and you don't seem remotely surprised to see us."

Miles turns around and looks between the both of us. "Oh my God, you guys were on Oceanic Flight 815! Wow!" he exclaims sarcastically. "That better?"

"Sayid walks around him and over to Daniel. "May I see that?" he says, talking the sat phone from him without permission and we continue walking.

"I wouldn't mess around with that if I were you," Miles warns.

"It can't hurt to try and call someone else," Sayid says.

"Oh, it can hurt." The phone beeps and we all stop, turning to it. "What'd you do?" Miles asks.

"I didn't do anything. Your friend, Charlotte, she's moving. And she's moving fast."

"She's running from something," Jack says, looking at the phone.

The four guys take off and Kat, Juliet, and I follow, but they stop soon. "According to this, she's right here," Sayid says.

"Charlotte! Charlotte!" Dan calls.

"Over there, over there," Kate says as the bushes start to move. I raise my gun.

Which was pointless. Vincent comes out of the bushes, his leash still on his collar, Charlotte blinking tracker hanging from it.

"Locke's got her," Jack says.

_Pop_! I turn my head to the sky and everyone follows. A flare sounds up in the sky. "That must be Frank!" Dan says.

"Who's Frank?" I ask.

"Oh, so you do speak," Miles says, looking at me. "I thought you were just this one's puppy." He nods his head at Sayid.

Sayid punches him in the face. "What the hell!" Miles exclaims.

"Do not talk to her like that," Sayid says threateningly.

Wow, I didn't realize Sayid had that much respect for me, but I could have punched Miles myself.

The others stand by awkwardly, recovering from Sayid's outburst. Daniel coughs. "Um, it's Tia, right? Frank is our chopper pilot. He wasn't wearing a tracker, so he would have shot the flare."

"Then let's go get him," Jack says, heading in that direction. "If he's the pilot, the helicopter can't be far away."

* * *

><p>We reach a man lying in the grass, a gaping wound on his head. "Is he alive?" Dan asks.<p>

Jack bends down and grabs the man's wrist. "I've got a pulse."

"Frank? Frank? Hey, hey. Frank?" Daniel prods him.

Frank jumps awake and skids away from us in shock as Dan asks if he's okay.

"What happened?" Miles asks.

"We got struck by lightning."

"Frank, where's Charlotte?" Dan asks

"She bailed out just before we went down. I don't know where she is."

"Where's the chopper?" says Miles.

Frank spaces out for a moment. "I saw a cow."

Miles rolls his eyes and bends down next to Frank, snapping his fingers in his face. "Hey, hey, Lapidus, where's the chopper? Where did it crash?"

"Crash? The hell kind of pilot do you think I am? I put her down safe and sound, right over there," Frank says, pointing down the ridge.

Kate and I run over to the hill with Juliet, Sayid, and Jack behind us. There it is. A military grade helicopter. The same kind I few in in the army to rescue wounded soldiers.

Sayid runs down the hill and starts inspecting the chopper. Juliet takes Frank aside and starts cleaning the wound on his head. "Well?" Jack asks Sayid of the chopper.

"There's some minor damage, but the mechanical systems are intact."

"So it'll fly then?"

"Absolutely."

"Can I have the phone now?" Miles cuts in.

"Tell you what," Jack teases. "I'll give you the phone if you tell me what you people are doing here."

"I'll tell you what we're doing here if you give me the phone," Miles counters.

Jack reluctantly hands Miles the phone. "Don't say anything about your sister."

"What?" I ask, confused.

"It's their code for when they're in trouble," Kate says, heading over to Naomi's body, which we carried from the clearing.

I watch Miles phone the boat. "Regina, its Miles. I need to talk to Minkowski…It's important, go get him…Alright, have him call me when he can."

Miles hangs up and notices Daniel and Kate carrying Naomi's body to the chopper. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing with her?"

"We're taking her with us," Dan says.

"What's the point? That's not Naomi, it's just meat."

"Miles, we can't just leave her here."

"Miles is right," Frank yells from the other side of the ridge, where Juliet is cleaning his head. "We burned up most of the damned fuel flying around that storm. We barely got enough to get back to the freighter, we're not carrying any unnecessary weight. I'll take her on the next run. I promise, Dan."

There's a moment of small chatter as Kate grabs a blanket from Jack's pack and drapes it over Naomi. "Miles!" Frank calls.

"Yeah?"

"This is Juliet, and she was not on the plane." I turn toward him. Why would this be a prudent piece of information?

"What?" Miles says, shocked, walking toward them. "You sure?"

"You know how many times I studied that damn manifest? Believe me there's no Juliet Burke on that plane. She's a native."

"Really?" Miles says, then he advances on Juliet. "Where is he?!" he yells in her face.

"Back off!" Jack says, getting between them.

"Where's who?" Juliet asks, calmly.

"You wanna know why we're here? I'll tell you why we're here!" Miles yells, reaching into his pocket and producing a photo. "We're here for Benjamin Linus." The photo shows Ben at some kind of airport. "Now where is he?" Miles yells.

"Just calm down," I say, getting between him and Jack. "What do you mean you're here for Ben Linus?"

"I was hired by a man looking for him."

"Who?"

"Like I'd tell you, princess."

"Did Ben ever mention knowing anyone off the island?" Jack asks Juliet and she shakes her head. "You're sure of that?"

"No," Juliet says. "I've never seen him leave the Island in the three years I've been here."

"Look, this is real simple," Miles says. "Do you know where he is or don't you?"

"What do you want with him?" Jack asks.

"I want to locate him. The people who hired me told me his name's Benjamin Linus, I don't know anything else. They gave me the picture, that's all they told me. They told me 'find him,' and for what they're paying me I don't need to know anything else, do you?"

"Listen, if you really want Ben, he's with Locke and your friend—,"

"Charlotte."

"Charlotte. Locke's got her too. And we know where they're headed."

"Tia, what the hell are you doing?" Jack asks me.

"I'm getting us off this Island," I say. I turn back to Miles. "You want Ben and Charlotte, let's get this done."

"Locke's the guy who killed Naomi," Miles says warily, turning back to Jack. "Give me back my gun, Shephard."

"You want your gun back? I want answers. You don't trust me, I don't trust you."

"You're supposed to be dead. But am I asking a million questions? No. We both have the same problem, this Locke guy."

"Even if Locke has your friend, you can't just waltz in there and grab her. They're armed," Kate says.

"Well how 'bout that? So are we! So why don't we move out?" Miles says, turning back to me.

"You're not going anywhere," Sayid says, finally showing up. He turns to Frank. "Will that helicopter fly?"

"It's what she does."

"Then you can take me to your ship."

"Sayid, wait a second," I say, calming him down.

"We did call these people to get us off this island, didn't we?" He turns back to Frank. "Well?"

"We burned a lot of fuel coming in, it can't carry much weight. I'll take three of you."

"In case you zoned out while you were tweezing your goatee," Miles says. "One of these yahoos took Charlotte prisoner."

"Tia and I can bring her back safely," Sayid says. "And if I do, will you take me to the ship?"

"Absolutely," Frank promises. "You bring Charlotte back safe, and I will take you off this island."

Sayid moves to his pack and starts pulling out some papers. "Take a look at this," Sayid says to Jack. "Naomi had it with her." It's the picture of Desmond and his girlfriend, Penny. The woman whose boat this is not. "She was looking for Desmond. Whatever their real agenda is, it's clear they're not sharing it. Maybe Desmond can shed some light on this."

Jack turns to Juliet. "How long would it take to get to the beach and back?"

"A couple of hours."

"You mind?"

"Anything I can do to help."

"Sayid," Jack says, turning back. "So how are we going to do this?"

Kate stands nearby as Sayid and I exchange a look. "You're not the best candidate for this kind of mission." Sayid says.

Jack chuckles. "And what kind of mission is that?"

"I'm going to make Locke release Charlotte. And I'm going to do it without any bloodshed."

"As opposed to the way I'd do it."

"Well, Jack, if you'd recall the last time you saw him, you put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger," I say.

"That's not good diplomacy," Sayid backs me up.

Miles is wearing his pack, waiting for us. "Hey, Jarrah, you think you're going after Charlotte without me?"

"Of course not."

Miles is taken aback for a moment. "Oh. Well, good."

"Is there anything else?" Sayid asks with a small smile.

"Yeah, give me my gun back."

Sayid ignores him, walking away. "We leave in ten minutes."

It doesn't take long for me to get water from a stream just inside the trees and Sayid, Miles, and I are ready to go. "Got room for one more?" Kate asks, raising her hand, a glock inside of it.

"Oh, yeah, she gets a gun," Miles says sarcastically.

"Gun's a last resort, Kate," Sayid says.

"You give Locke that same speech?" she counters.

"Hey," Miles calls impatiently. "Let's move out."

* * *

><p>"So what are you two," Miles asks, pointing between me and Sayid. "The Island's favorite couple."<p>

"We're not a couple," I say.

"Oh, is that why you do everything he tells you, princess?"

I grin. "That's not gonna work on me. I can spot hierarchical manipulation from a mile away. In case you forgot, Miles, this trip was my idea."

"Who are you?" Miles asks. "What's your name?"

"Tia,"

"Tia what?"

I grin again. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious."

"Tia Samuels," I say.

"Oh, the army chick."

I stop walking and face him. "How do you know that?"

"The boat did profiles on the Oceanic passengers. Your name jumped out. We've got a lot of army people on the boat." I look over at Kate and notice that she's become a little agitated.

"Naomi, were you close to her?" Sayid asks Miles.

"Nope. Met her on the boat."

"You don't seem particularly affected by her death."

"Sure I'm affected. She was hot and I dug her accent."

"Nice," Kate says, rolling her eyes.

"And this woman, Charlotte," Sayid continues. "You don't really care about her, do you?"

"Define care."

"So much for camaraderie."

"Yeah, gee, who's the one going after one of their crash buddies with guns? Actually, I do care about Locke," Miles says, stopping his walk and turning to Sayid. "Maybe you can tell me how he managed to split your happy little family in half."

Sayid glances at me, then explains. "There was a fundamental debate as to whether your people were coming to rescue us... or kill us."

"And which side did you land on?"

Sayid starts walking again. "I let you know when I decide."

* * *

><p>We make it to the Barracks about thirty minutes later. We stand at the edge of the neighborhood and Miles takes in the surroundings. "What's with the swing set? These people have daycare?" he asks, but we ignore him.<p>

"You think they're here yet?" Kate asks, looking at the apparently empty chain of yellow houses.

"Let's find out," Sayid says, walking into the Barracks. Kate and I follow, our guns ready. We hear a loud banging from the house to our right. Sayid draws his gun.

"It's coming from in there," Kate says, motioning to the house with her gun. We run toward the house and Sayid kicks the door down. Inside, it's completely destroyed, the couch torn up, the books flung off the shelves.

I hear a muffled shouting to my right, inside a closet door. Sayid motions to the door with his head and Kate and I cover it with our guns. The handles of the door are ties together with rope. Sayid unties the knot and opens the door, revealing something we did not expect.

Hurley is sitting on the floor of the closet, his wrists tied together and his mouth gaged. Kate bends down beside him and removed the gag, then starts on his hands. "Hurley, what happened?" she asks.

"They left me," Hurley says, a scared look in his eye.

"Come on," I say, bending down and helping Kate lift him. "Let's get you to the couch."

We sit him down and Hurley starts to explain. "Locke's gone off the reservation, man. I mean, he took this one chick hostage, he said Walt was the one who told him to kill the other chick, and, and he—,"

"Walt?" I ask. "How could he have seen Walt?"

"Dude, don't ask. I was, like, just trying to argue with him, so he would just like, you know, chill, but—,"

"How about you stop babbling and just tell us what happened to them? Where are they?" Miles says.

"Who are you?" Hurley asks, confused.

"Where the hell did they go, Tubby?"

"Oh, awesome. The ship sent us another Sawyer," Hurley says sarcastically.

"Hurley, where did they go?" Sayid asks him, patiently.

"Look, I guess they were too busy tying me up to tell me. I don't know."

"So they all left, all together?" Kate asks, bringing him a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Yeah, they were freaked. Locke said the people on the ship were here to rescue Charlotte and then kill us." Hurley turns to Miles. "So... are you?"

Miles grins from his chair. "Not yet."

Sayid ignores him. "Did they say anything that suggested where they were going next?"

"Um, Locke said they were gonna go by Ben's house before they took off."

"Why would they go there?"

"For all I know, they could have locked Ben up in a closet too."

"Where's Ben's house?" Miles asks, standing.

* * *

><p>Ben's house isn't far from this one. Sayid noticed a lot of things while he was chained to the swing set in the middle of their camp. Sayid twists the knob and the door opens. We walk inside and it's eerily quiet. "Look for anything that shows where they might have gone. I'll start in here," Sayid says, looking around the living room.<p>

Kate and I head down the hallway and we find four doors. One is a closet, the other a bathroom. Kate takes the bedroom on the right and I take the one on the left.

"It's obviously the room of a teenager. I remember Kate and Sawyer telling me that Karl was the boyfriend of Ben's daughter, Alex, who was, incidentally Danielle Rousseau's biological daughter that Ben had kidnapped. She helped them escape. This must be Alex's room.

I don't have much time to look around as I hear a gun cock behind me. I turn and Rousseau stands there, her gun pointed at my head. "Do not move," she whispers. "I'm sorry, Tia."

"Sayid! Tia!" I hear Kate call from behind the closed door of Ben's room.

I start to move, but Rousseau stops me. "Do not move," she says. "I need to take you to Locke." She motions with the tip of her rifle for me to walk out of Alex's room.

In the living room, Locke has Sayid at gunpoint and Miles by the scruff of his neck. Hurley stands off to the side. "Don't worry, Kate's fine," Locke says. "Good job, Hugo."

My jaw falls open in shock. Hurley lied to me? He tricked me? I feel so betrayed. "Sorry, dude," Hurley says, looking guilty.

Locke tosses Miles to the side and Rousseau covers him as well as me. "Take them to the rec room, please," Locke tells her, taking my gun from my hand. He points it at Miles. "Leave this one with me."

"Rousseau leads us out the door and across the yard of the Barracks. "Sorry, Sayid, nothing personal," she says. Hurley follows us, looking nervously at Sayid.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Hurley," he says.

"Yeah," Hurley hesitates. "I saw you snap that guy's neck with that break dancing thing you do with your legs. I think I'll hang back here."

Rousseau opens a door to a larger house, but inside it's not a house. There's a couch, a Ping-Pong table. It's basically a rec room. In the center of the room, an old friend is tied to a chair. "Well... I guess they're running out of jail space," Ben Linus says.

Sayid looks pissed that they put us in here with him. He starts rattling on the barred windows of the rec room. "I lost a dollar, you know," Ben says.

"How did you manage that?" Sayid says.

"I bet John that you wouldn't be stupid enough to fall for your friend as bait."

"What do you know about friendship?" I say, grabbing a chair and sitting in front of Ben. If I'm stuck with him, the least I can do is get some long overdue questions.

"I know it's no use having friends you can't trust."

"Why are you here?" I ask him.

"Jack beat me up, tied me up, then sent me away with John."

I smile. "You're a smart man. A manipulator. A talker. I've gathered that much from our little conversations back at the hatch. You wanted to get caught then and you wanted to get caught now. Why are you here, Ben?"

He smiles maliciously. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret."

I pause as I stare into his large green eyes, pulsating with an evil that I cannot stand. I have more questions, but I notice Sayid shaking his head behind Ben so that he can't see. The look on Sayid's face is clear. _This is not the time or place_.

The doors of the rec room rattle and Locke walks inside, carrying a tray. "Iced tea," he explains, setting down the tray and pouring two glasses. "I thought you might be thirsty."

"I'm thirsty," Ben says, raising a hand, but we ignore him.

"I'm sorry about all the theatrics, but uh, I didn't know how many of you there'd be, or whether you'd be armed. I covered my bases," Locke explains, sitting in a chair.

"What have you done with Miles and Kate?" Sayid asks.

"Kate's with Sawyer. And Miles is somewhere else. "He's fine. All I did was ask him some questions."

"Did he answer any?"

"No."

"Did you have more luck with the woman you captured?"

"Not particularly," Locke says, glancing at Ben, then back at us quickly.

"Then why don't you turn her over to us?" Sayid asks.

"Why would I do that?"

"I agree that these people are liars and they're certainly not here to rescue us. But if I return safely with Charlotte, they'll take me to their ship. It's our best chance of finding out who they are and what they really want."

Locke sets down his glass of tea and stands, facing us. "Well, then, I can save you two a lot of trouble because Ben says he's got a spy on the boat."

I turn back to Ben, quickly. "Who?" I ask.

"It's a secret," he says maliciously.

"Forgive me," Sayid says. "But the day I start trusting him is the day I would have sold my soul. Give us Charlotte! Allow me to do things my way. Or war is coming, which we will both be powerless to stop."

"Why would I give you Charlotte for nothing?" Locke says.

"Oh, I think you misunderstood me. I never expected you to give her to me for nothing." Locke raises an eyebrow, but I know exactly what Sayid is going to propose. "You can keep Miles. I don't need him. I just need the woman." Sayid turns to me. "So you think that's fair, Tia?"

"Plenty fair to me, Sayid," I say, standing. "How 'bout it, John?"

Locke looks between us, then at Ben, then back to us. "Alright. Some with me."

He leads us outside the rec room and tells us to wait in front of the doors. He comes back three minutes later with a red haired woman. "What's going on?" she asks in a British accent.

"You're leaving with these two," Locke says.

"Where's Kate?" I ask.

"I ran into her on the way to get her," Locke says, motioning to Charlotte. "She says she's staying."

"If I find out you're lying," Sayid warns.

"He's not lying," Kate yells at us from a window. "Get her back to Jack."

"Where are we going?" Charlotte asks.

"We're taking you to Daniel and Frank," I say.

"What about Miles?" she asks.

"Miles is staying with me," Locke says, smiling.

* * *

><p>"They're back!" Juliet shouts as Sayid, Charlotte, and I walk over the hill and see the group, which now includes Desmond.<p>

"Where's Kate?" Jack asks us.

"She decided to stay," Sayid says.

"What happened to Miles?" Frank asks.

"We traded him."

"Traded him?"

"I promised you Charlotte, here she is."

Frank grins. "You cheated."

"Did I?"

"Yes, you did. Lucky for you that guy's nothing but a pain in my ass. All right. That gives us room for one more. Charlotte?"

"Go back? With all the fun I'm having here? No, I've got work to do."

"Seat's yours if you want it, Daniel," Frank offers.

"I... no, thank you. I think I should probably just stay with Charlotte."

"All right."

I turn to Desmond. "You going with them?"

"Aye. Someone's got to get us answers."

Sayid walks over, throwing his pack into the helicopter. "I can come with you," I say.

"No, I need you here," Sayid says. "Keep an eye on them," his eyes flash at Daniel and Charlotte. He turns to Frank. "You said we have room for one more?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We should bring Naomi home."

I help Sayid load Naomi's body onto the helicopter. I give him a hug. "Take care of yourself," I whisper in his ear.

"As long as you do. Don't let Jack test your patience."

I chuckle. "I'll try."

Desmond crawls into the front seat, next to Frank. "Desmond," I say, holding out my hand.

He takes it. "I'll see you in another life, yeah?"

"Hopefully in a few days on our way home."

"Like I said, another life."

I jump off of the chopper and it takes off into the sky, with a large gust of wind. I watch as my friend takes off away from me and I wonder if I'll ever see him again.


	4. Flashforward: My New Company

I sit in my father's old office, wildly unchanged from the last time I was here, over a year ago.

"He died two weeks ago," Gil says, shuffling through the bookshelf. "We put the Will up here. We had a lawyer look at it to figure out how he wanted to be buried. But we cremated him, spread his ashes on Mom's grave."

I nod my head. "That's good. Good choice."

Gil finds the folder and jumps down. Donny sits on the couch in the corner of the room. He's been sober for over three years. Out of Santa Rosa four months after I left for the army. Gil holds out the folder in front of me. "You want to do it?"

I look at the yellow envelope and wonder what's inside. Nothing would have been left to me. He thought I was dead. That's probably why Gil wanted me to open it. I grab it from him and rip it open. _The Last Will and Testament of Donald Fredrick Samuels, Sr_.

I read over the will, my eyes widening with every revelation. I hand it to Gil, whose eyes do the same thing. "What the hell?" he asks. Not jealously. Just confused.

"What?" Donny asks, getting up and walking over. Gil hands him the packet. Donny reads and then looks at me. "He left you the company?"

"I'm as shocked as both of you. He thought I was dead. Why would he do this?"

"Here's why," Gil says, holding up the packet. "He wrote this a week after he sent you to Australia. Hasn't changed it."

"So, I own Samuel's Automobile Industries," I say, looking around the office.

"Yeah, and we get stock shares," Donny says, scoffing at the Will.

I laugh sarcastically. "If you want the company, Donny, take it. I never wanted anything to do with this it."

"Neither did I, but I expected him to give it to the three of us and we'd disband it, taking the money."

"That's a plan," I say, looking over the Will. "How many partners did he have invested in the company?"

"You got me, I've been gone for two years," Gil says.

"I've been gone for over a year. Donny?"

"Hey, it's your company, Tee," he says. "Do with it what you will."

* * *

><p>Gil had an ultrasound appointment with Sonja and Donny had to get to work. He was working in the kitchen of a restaurant downtown. They left me alone in my father's office. I notice his old bottle of scotch and I pour myself a drink, then disregard it. I will not turn into the person my father was because of this company. I will not gain a Scotch Hand.<p>

I head over to the computer and turn it on. The passwords for the computer are hidden in a small cigar case on the shelf. Dad could never remember his passwords.

My father didn't make cars. He invested in other car companies. Cutting them off could make his partners frustrated, but I open the first folder I find. _Paik Heavy Industries_. I look for a profile on the owner. Yun-Kim Paik. I look at his picture and recognize him immediately. I saw him yesterday at the Air Force base. Sun's father.

I see another company and a name jumps out at me. _Widmore Industries_. What the hell? Sun's father and that Charles Widmore bastard who almost ruined my life? My father worked with both of these companies?

I pull my purse over to me and grab a notebook. Inside is Sun's contact information. I grab the phone on my father's desk and call the number. "Annyeong," Sun's voice greets in Korean.

"Sun? It's Tia. Is this a bad time?"

"Tia? No, not at all. How can I help you?"

"I don't know if you heard about my father?"

"I heard you at the press conference. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, thanks. Anyway, I was perusing his company files. Guess who one of his head partners was?"

"Tia, I'm not sure where you're going with this."

"Paik Heavy Industries."

"Excuse me?"

"Your father and my father were business partners."

Sun hesitates for a moment. "Tia, you need to leave that partnership."

"My brothers and I are disbanding the company. Don't worry about it."

"Then why did you call me?"

"Because there's another thing. Another partner of theirs was Charles Widmore."

She pauses. "Tia, please do me a favor. Do not disband your father's company."

"Um, why?"

"Because I think we should be business partners. I've been thinking of taking over my father's company. It is highly linked to crime all over Korea and other parts of the world, including California."

"So, you're going to take over your father's car company. How?"

"With the settlement we get from Oceanic. Please, just don't shut down the company. Keep it going. I have to go, but I think this will work."

"But what about Widmore?" I ask her. "What are we going to do about that?"

"I'll handle it. Just keep your father's company afloat."

She hangs up without a goodbye and I'm thoroughly confused. I don't know how to run this company.

Then it hits me. Hunter Burrows, my father's right hand man. He basically ran this company before Dad's death. Why can't he handle it now?

* * *

><p>I stand outside the front door of the large house and find it much more difficult to push the doorbell than I thought it would. But I grit my teeth and force my arm to move and the ding-dong sounds behind the door.<p>

A Hispanic woman opens the door. "May I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Sabrina Carlyle?"

Her eyes scan me and I see the realization cover her face. "Please come in," she says. I walk inside to a grand foyer. The woman leaves. A few seconds later an older woman with blonde hair comes out of a back room. She looks at me and I see the realization course over her face. "You," she says.

"Me?"

"You're one of the Oceanic Seven."

I stand in the foyer, Sabrina looking over me. "My name is Tia Samuels."

"I know who you are. Your face is plastered all over every news station and paper in the world. I figured one of you would come to see me, but I was hoping it was you."

"Why me?"

"You knew my son, Boone. And judging by the necklace you're wearing, you knew him pretty well."

I instinctively grab the talisman of the necklace. "Did you see it on television?" I ask her.

"Yes. Would you like to sit down," she offers. I nod and follow her into a living room with large windows and white couches.

"Ms. Samuels, I'm not going to act like I understand why you're here, so would you mind explaining it to me."

"I'm not really sure," I tell her. I look around the big house. "Is this where Boone and Shannon grew up?" I ask.

"You know about Shannon?" Sabrina asks.

"Um, Boone would talk about her. He cared about her very much."

"A little too much if you ask me. I did my best to put a stop to it."

"I don't follow."

"Do you know why they were in Sydney?"

"Boone said he was helping Shannon out of a bad relationship."

"He was watching her make mistakes. Time and time again he helped her get out of those 'bad relationships'. And it wasn't because he was an over protective brother."

"Mrs. Carlyle—,"

"Why are you here, Ms. Samuels?" Sabrina asks. "Are you looking for something? My approval?"

"I'm here because it seemed right. I'm here because as much as your son resented you, he still loved you and I thought you'd like to know that. I wanted you to know that I cared deeply about your son. I loved him, Mrs. Carlyle."

She looks at me, contemplating her next words. "I knew your mother," she says.

"Excuse me?"

"Your mother, Eliza. I planned her wedding."

"How is that possible?" I ask, thinking about Mr. Paik and Charles Widmore, my connections to people I had never realized until the Island.

"You knew Boone too. You were three, he was two. Shannon wasn't in the picture yet. I didn't marry her father until she was eight." Sabrina walks over to a cabinet against the wall and pulls out a photo album. She brings it back to her spot on the couch across from me, flips through it, and pulls out a picture, handing it to me.

It's me at three years old, my curly hair like a mop on top of my head. And a baby boy. If the photo was in color, I know that baby's eyes would shine a bright blue. "My parents never mentioned you," I say.

"Oh, your father never liked me much. He gave me my first loan to start up my business. When I paid him back, he wanted more compensation and a higher interest then we discussed. We stopped talking after your younger brother was born." I stare at the photo in silence. "Now, what is it you really came here for, Ms. Samuels?"

"I guess…I came here for closure. I needed some closure that I never got."

"And did you find it?"

I smile, looking at the photograph. "Yes, I think I did." I stand and start to hand it back.

"Oh, no. You keep that," Sabrina says. "I never look at it anyway."

She leads me out of the living room and back into the foyer. For the first time I notice a large photograph on the wall. Boone's face smiles at me from behind the glass of the frame, those blue eyes that I thought I'd never see again looking right at me.

And for the first time since his death, I think I may be alright. I have my brothers, a new sister, and soon I'll have a niece or nephew. I'm going to be okay.


	5. Day 93: What Friends?

It takes us all day to make it back to the beach, but it's almost bearable without Miles's constant bickering. When we get back to the beach, everyone crowds us, asking about our new friends.

"This is, uh, Charlotte, and Dan," Jack says, introducing them. "Their helicopter already took Sayid and Desmond back to their freighter. They can make arrangements to get all of us off this island."

Sun walks up to me. "Where's Kate?" she asks.

I explain our trip to the Barracks and how we traded Miles for Charlotte. "But Kate stayed behind," I say. "Don't ask me why. I don't know."

Daniel walks up to us, Charlotte slightly behind him. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, not at all and I don't want to impose."

"What do you need, Dan?"

"Well, it's been a while since we've eaten. Do you all have a food supply?"

"You just walked through our kitchen," I tell him, pointing. "All of that stuff is food. Help yourself."

"Thank you, Tia," he says, turning back around and taking Charlotte to the pantry.

"Who are they?" Sun asks me.

"That's Daniel. He's the boat's physicist. And Charlotte? I'm not really sure what she does." I notice Jack sitting with Juliet, messing with the SAT phone. "Come on," I say to Sun.

"Maybe you should try a number other than the boat, like 911," Juliet suggests.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing," Jack says. "I'm just having some trouble getting ahold of their boat."

"You haven't heard from Sayid?" Sun asks, surprised. "You said they left yesterday!"

"And I'm sure they're fine."

"What if Locke was right?" Sun says. "What if these people are here to hurt us?"

"Locke has no idea what he's doing," Jack says intently.

"Then why is Kate with him?" she counters. Jack doesn't come up with an answer and Sun walks away, hotly.

Jack tries the number again, but without success. "Come on," he says to me and Juliet, walking over to Charlotte and Daniel, who are playing a card game. "Hey. I've been calling your boat all day," Jack tells them, bending down. "Why isn't anyone answering?"

"We're here, how should we know?" Charlotte says. "If they're not answering, they're probably—,"

"Are you telling me there is only one line on that boat?" Jack asks, getting impatient.

Charlotte and Dan exchange a look. "There is another number that we're only supposed to use in emergencies," she says.

Juliet bends down, grabbing the phone from Jack and handing it to Charlotte. "It's an emergency."

"Put it on speaker," Jack says.

Charlotte dials a number. It rings and a British woman answers. "Yeah?"

"Regina, it's Charlotte."

"Why are you calling me on this number?"

"Minkowski wasn't answering. The people on the island want to talk to their friends, make sure they're alright."

"What friends?"

"They left last night! Frank took them up in the helicopter."

"What do you mean they took off? I thought the helicopter was with you."

Jack looks at me confused. Juliet looks worried. Daniel looks…not confused. I can't place his expression.


	6. Day 94: The Constant and The Tempest

"Alright," Jack says, bright and early the next morning. "They took off a day ago. Why haven't we heard from them?"

Charlotte takes a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you again, as I've been telling you all night, doctor. I don't know! You heard the same thing as I did when we called the boat. What makes you think I know anything?"

"Because you're not worried," Juliet says.

"Excuse me?"

"You're boat's forty miles off the coast. It should have taken them what, twenty minutes to get there? So why aren't you worried?"

"Should I wring my hands together and whisper a prayer on their behalf?" Charlotte says bitterly.

Daniel intervenes, stepping in front of her. "Hey, hey, hey, c'mon. Maybe we should just, just tell them."

"Tell us what?" I ask.

"Dan, let's not confuse anyone," Charlotte says frustrated.

"Well, Daniel," Juliet says. "Maybe if you talk real slow, we'll be able to follow."

Dan turns around and starts to explain. "Your perception of how long your friends have been gone, it's not necessarily how long they've actually been gone."

"What does that mean?" Jack asks.

"This is a mistake," Charlotte says.

"It'll be fine, it'll be fine," Dan assures us. "As long as Frank flew on the bearings I gave him. If he stayed on it, it'll be fine."

"And what if he didn't?" I ask, getting more worried with every work that comes out of Dan's mouth.

"Then there might be side-effects," Dan says.

"What kind of side-effects?"

"It would be difficult to explain, but like I said, as long as Frank stayed on the bearings, everything should be fine."

* * *

><p>A few hours later and we finally get a call from the freighter. Jack answers the phone. "Hello?...Are you okay? Where the hell have you been?...Hold on, hold on, hold on. Alright, you're on speaker." Jack presses a button and Sayid's voice comes out of the phone.<p>

"On the helicopter, something happened to Desmond. He doesn't appear to recognize me or know where he is."

Jack turns to Dan. "Side-effects?"

"Wait, your friend, Desmond? Has he recently been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism?"

We all exchange looks. How would we know that?

"Okay, look," Dan continues. "Uh, we don't know why, but going to and coming from the Island, some people can get a little...confused."

"So, what, is this amnesia?" Juliet asks.

"No, this is not amnesia. I need to talk to Desmond."

"He's in their sickbay," Sayid says. "I can try to get Frank to help me get in."

We wait and there's a bit of scuffling on the other end. I hear Sayid yell "Give him the phone now!"

"Hello?" Desmond says.

"Desmond! Desmond, my name is Daniel Faraday. We met yesterday before you took off? But I'm guessing you don't remember that. Am I right?"

"Took off? What?"

"Desmond, we don't have long to talk so I need you to tell me what year you think it is."

"What do you mean, what year do I think it — it's 1996!"

Jack, Juliet, and I exchange a look. What the hell is going on?

"Alright, Desmond, Desmond look, you gotta tell me... where are you?"

"Um...um...I'm in some kind of sick bay."

"No, no. Not right now, Desmond. Where are you supposed to be? Where are you in 1996?"

"Uh, Camp Millar, it's a Royal Scots Regiment, it's just north of Glasgow."

"Dan," Jack says, cutting in. "You might wanna—,"

"No, no, no. I'm thinking, I'm thinking. Desmond, listen. When it happens again, Desmond, I need you to get on a train. Get on a train and go to Oxford. Oxford University. Queens College Physics Department. Alright?"

"What, why?"

"Because I need you to find me." Dan runs over to his pack and starts rummaging through it. "Where is it? Where is it?"

"What?" Charlotte asks.

"My journal. I need my journal, I won't believe him."

"Why does he think he's in 1996?" I ask.

"I don't know, I don't know. It's unpredictable, it's a random effect. Sometimes it takes place for only a couple of hours, sometimes it's years."

"Wait, wait," Jack says. "This has happened before?"

Daniel produces a journal from his pack. "The phone now, please. Thank you. Desmond, you still there?"

"Talk to him! I can't hold them for long," I hear Sayid shout.

"Yes!" Des shouts. "What've you got?"

"Okay, Desmond, listen. When you find me at Queens College, I need you to tell me to set the device to two-point three four two."

"What?"

"Alright, you got it? Two-point three four two! And it must be oscillating at eleven hertz. You got it Desmond? Just remember that. Two-point three four two and eleven hertz, alright? And one more thing, Desmond. If the numbers don't convince me, I need you to tell me that you know about Eloise."

"Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy!" someone shouts from the other end of the phone.

"Desmond! Tell me that you know about Eloise!" Dan shouts before we hear a dial tone.

"So what now?" I ask.

"Now, we hope that he finds a constant," Dan says.

"A what?"

"A constant. Something in his life that he can access from both here and in 1996."

"What about you? He's going to see you in Oxford, right? Wouldn't you classify as a constant?"

"There's no connection between me and Desmond. Nothing emotional. It would need to be something or someone he cares about deeply."

I think of Penny and her transmission to the Looking Glass Station that Charlie intercepted. She's obviously trying to contact the Island and right now and her best chance is using the freighter as her telephone. I have to believe that they'll make contact, because judging by Daniel's tone, if he doesn't, it'll end badly.

* * *

><p>I'm trying not to worry about Desmond as I eat a dinner of DHARMA oatmeal and a box of raisins. I see Juliet and Sun putting up a more secure shelter as thunder rumbles above us, making it darker than usual since the clouds have blocked the moon. Jin is sitting beside me. "Could you pass the raisins?" he asks.<p>

"That's pretty good English, Jin," I complement.

"Thank you. I, uh, understand better than I speak. Sun helps me. She is good teacher."

I smile and hand him the box of raisins and he drops a few into his own bowl of oatmeal. I see Jack approaching Juliet and he waves me over.

I set down my bowl and walk over. "Have any of you seen Charlotte and Faraday? All their stuff's gone."

"No, I haven't seen them," Juliet says.

"You still have the sat phone, right?" I ask him, but he shakes his head no.

Jin must have followed me over here, because he says something in Korean. "He saw them going into the jungle," Sun translates.

"Why didn't he say anything?" Jack asks, and Sun translates his words for Jin.

"You said... they are friends," Jin says, confused.

Jack lets out a sigh. "Aren't they?" Sun asks.

Jack doesn't respond.

* * *

><p>The five of us are lighting torches, the thunder above us booming. "All right, we've got a lot of ground to cover, so let's fan out," Jack instructs. "If you cut their trail, call out to me. I'll come to you."<p>

I head out with Jack and Juliet and Sun and Jin search in the other direction. The rain starts pounding, but luckily not enough to drench our torches. Unfortunately, I'm soon soaked to the bone.

"Where's Juliet?" Jack calls to me about a mile later.

I look around, but Juliet and her torch are gone. "I don't know. She was right behind me."

I follow him closely and he makes a break in the trees. Juliet is standing there, speaking to a woman. "Who are you?" Jack asks her, raising his gun.

"I'm an old friend of Juliet's," she answers. "I just told her where the people you're looking for are headed. Maybe you and your gun can go too."

A wave of wind hits us and our torches are snuffed. There are whispering voices, but I can't make out what they say. By the time my eyes adjust the woman is gone.

"What was that about?" Jack asks Juliet. "What did she tell you?"

"That Faraday and Charlotte are heading for the Tempest."

"What's the Tempest?" I ask.

"It's safer for you if I don't talk about it."

"No. Talk about it, please," Jack says.

"It's an electrical station that powers the Island."

"Why would they go there?" Jack asks, but Juliet doesn't respond. He turns to face her. "Hey. If there's something you need to tell me, now's the time to do it."

"What I need is for you to help me," she says. "Will you help me?" Jack looks at the ground and she takes this as a yes. "What about you?" she says to me. I nod my head, agreeing to help. "If we move all night, maybe we can still catch them. Thank you," she says to us.


	7. Day 95: Trust Issues

"That woman," Jack asks Juliet a few miles later, after the sun has already risen. "What was her name?"

"Harper," Juliet answers.

"The two of you friends?"

"Not exactly. She was my therapist."

"You had therapists?" I ask her.

"It's very stressful being an Other, Tia."

"Seemed kinda hostile, even for a therapist," Jack says.

"I'm sure there are things from your past that you'd rather not talk about."

"Yeah. You read them all in my file."

"Trust me, Jack. You don't want to see my file," she says, picking up the pace.

* * *

><p>A few miles later and we've managed to pick up their trail and, according to Juliet, we are headed towards the Tempest. But after a while, Jack starts to get impatient. "Something's wrong. We should've caught up with 'em by now.<p>

"These people base jumped out of a helicopter, Jack. Let's give 'em the benefit of the doubt," Juliet says.

To my right I hear a groan, and I point my gun toward it, instinctively. Jack leads the way through the bushes and Kate lays on the ground, her head bleeding. I point my gun down and grab my pack off my back, pulling out a cloth and some peroxide.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Hey," Jack says to her, getting her to come too. "It's all right. Take it easy."

"I'll go get her some water," Juliet says.

"Thanks," I call to her, dribbling peroxide onto the cloth.

Kate's eyes open and she sits up, gasping in pain. "What happened?" Jack asks her.

"I was going back to the beach, and... I ran into Faraday and that woman... um... Charlotte. I think she hit me."

"They disappeared out of camp last night. We've been trying to catch up with them," Jack tells her, taking the cloth from me and putting it on her head.

"Do you know where they were headed?" she asks.

"Some sort of power station," I answer.

"You guys," Kate says, looking between the two of us. "They had gas masks."

Jack stands up and walks to the creek, calling Juliet's name, but there's no response. Juliet's gone.

"She came through here," Kate says, bending down at the ground, looking at the trail. "So did they, about half an hour ahead of her." She starts walking in that direction and we follow.

"What happened?" Jack asks.

"Sorry?" Kate says, confused.

"At Locke's. Why did you stay?"

"I stayed because I had to find something out."

"Are you gonna tell us, or are we gonna keep walking through the jungle like it doesn't matter?"

Kate stops and turns back to us. "I stayed to find out if the people on the freighter know who I am. If they knew that I'm a fugitive. That I'm wanted for murder."

"Do they?" Jack asks.

"Yeah, they know," Kate says. "We should keep moving. God knows where Juliet is."

She leads the way and there's not much talking. We reach a large DHARMA building in about an hour. Juliet is standing outside with Charlotte, the latter wearing some kind of hazmat suit. Kate angrily starts to advance on Charlotte, her gun raised.

"Whoa, Kate, it's all right," Juliet says, raising her hands. "They're on our side."

"Our side, Juliet?" Kate asks. "She just knocked me unconscious."

"Yeah. I'm very sorry about that, but I had no choice," Charlotte yells. "Look, Daniel's inside securing the facility. If you come with me, I will be more than happy to explain exactly how we just saved your life."

"All right. Let's go," Kate says, motioning with her gun. Mine is in my hand, but I'm not pointing it at anyone. Kate turns to Jack, waiting for him to follow us.

"I'll take their word for it," he says.

I follow Charlotte and Kate into the Tempest. It's a large open room with multiple higher levels make out of metal risers. In the center of the room, there are multiple computers, one of which Daniel Faraday stands in front of, typing on its keyboard. All around the walls of the room are large tanks, holding God knows what.

"You wanna explain how you've saved our lives, exactly?" I ask Charlotte.

"Gladly. Before Juliet shoed up and interrupted us, Daniel was trying to stop the gas."

"What gas?" Kate asks.

"Large amounts of poisonous gas that Benjamin Linus could use at any point, killing every person on this Island."

"And how did you stop it?"

"I rendered it inert," Daniel calls from the computer, not looking away. "Sent it under ground where it will turn into a harmless fossil fuel."

"Fossil fuels aren't harmless," I say.

"Well, less harmless than if Linus were to release it," Charlotte counters. "So you believe me now?"

Kate still has her gun pointed at Charlotte. "Kate, I think they're telling the truth."

"Then why did she knock me out?"

"Would you have really let us go on our merry way if I hadn't?" Charlotte asks. "You were taking up our time, I need to get us moving."

"Kate, maybe you should put the gun down," I say, eying the tanks. Dan might have rendered the gasses inert, but I don't trust a bullet going off in here. Kate reluctantly lowers the gun and we walk back outside.

Jack and Juliet are separating from a hug as we exit the building. Jack looks sheepish as they separate and Kate tries to act like she hadn't seen anything. Charlotte and Daniel come out a few minutes later, their hazmat suits back in their bags and we head back to the beach.


	8. Flashforward: Birthday Party

June 2005

Two weddings in less than a month, and I'm sick and tired of the sappy love nest I've been thrown into. Gil and Sonja got married in early February, Sonja wearing her baby bump proud under her white dress. She made me wear this hideous purple things as one of her bridesmaids amongst a group of women I didn't know, who asked me tons of questions about the crash that I had to cover with lies. When they figured out that I wasn't into sharing much of my time on Membata, they decided to resent me for delaying the wedding from October to February, noting that the purple color would have made much more sense in autumn, than in February, where the colors should be pink and white in honor of Valentine's Day. I didn't really care. I was just happy to see Gil so happy, constantly smiling, his new bride on his arm.

Sayid and Nadia's wedding was much more enjoyable. Nadia was Sayid's long-lost love from childhood, who he'd been searching for since he'd left the Republican Guard. It was such a sweet story and their wedding was much simpler and I didn't have to walk down the aisle and I could wear whatever I wanted. I mostly hung out with Kate and Aaron, who was getting bigger every day.

Today I was happy to be headed to a party that did not include a wedding. Kate and I were headed to Hurley's birthday party that his mom was throwing. We got to the house and Carmen made us park the car at a neighbor's house across the street, as it was a surprise party and she didn't want Hurley to get suspicious.

I carried my gift into the house, Kate and Aaron behind me and Carmen led us to the back yard, which had been decorated in a tropical island theme. Kate took one look at the decorations and almost turned a color of green, but she recovered quickly and we hid behind the back doors. Carmen rushed to the back yard to tell us that Hurley had arrived.

When Hurley opened the door, he was holding a gold statue of Jesus Christ up in the air, ready to whack someone.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted, but backed off after they noticed Jesus in his hand.

Carmen walked up to him. "Hugo, what are you doing with that?" she asks.

"I don't know. I thought there might be a prowler or something."

"Jesus Christ is not a weapon," she says taking it from his hand. "Okay. Enjoy your party."

Everyone laughs and cheers as Hurley is bombarded by guests. "Let's give him some space," I say to Kate and she nods. "Come on, I heard David say they set up an open bar."

I'm about have the bartender make me a scotch on the rocks, but I change my mind and choose a glass of white wine instead. Kate orders a club soda, as she's driving us back to her place. I've taken up staying at Kate's house when I come to Los Angeles from Sacramento. It's much better than staying in a hotel, and she insisted that she doesn't mind.

"No way," Hurley says, coming up to Kate, Aaron, and I.

""Happy birthday, Hurley," Kate says, giving him a hug.

"Hey, Kate. Hey, little buddy," he says to Aaron.

"Say hi," Kate says, waving Aaron's tiny little hand. "Jack's running late. Sorry."

"Happy birthday, Hurley," I say giving him a hug.

"I'm glad you guys came," he says, and he turns around at a tap on his shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Hugo," Nadia says with Sayid next to her.

"Wow, you guys are here," Hurley says, giving her a hug.

"Interesting choice of theme," Sayid notes, looking uncomfortable.

"Yeah, my mom... really doesn't get it, Dude," Hurley says.

"Hey! How's everybody doing?" Hurley's father, David says to us, approaching and putting his hand on Sayid's shoulder. "What are you talking about? Building a fire or hunting boars?" He laughs at his joke, but none of us follow. "I guess not. Uh, listen. Uh, do you mind, uh, excusing us for a little while? I wanna show you your birthday present, Hugo. Hmm? Come on. Bye-bye now."

David takes Hurley away, leaving us with each other. Nadia is about to say something when Kate's phone rings. "Can you hold Aaron for me?" she asks, handing him to me without waiting for a response. She grabs her phone out of her bag. "Hello?...What?...But he'll be so disappointed. I told him you were coming…Yeah, I understand…okay, I'll see you later." She puts the phone back in her purse. "Jack's not coming. He has an emergency surgery."

We all pause for a minute as I hand Aaron back to Kate. "So Tia," Nadia says. "Have you decided if you're going back to school?"

"Um, I don't think I am," I tell her, taking a sip of my wine. "Between keeping my father's business afloat, and my brother's baby coming, I'm just a little swamped right now. Plus, my older brother is trying to get his restaurant started, so I'm helping with that."

"Has anyone heard from Sun?" Kate asks.

Sayid shakes his head. I talked to Sun yesterday, actually. Last month, early May, she completed her plan of using her compensation from Oceanic to take out a controlling interest in her father's company. We've been talking business plans diligently, but she's asked me not to say anything to anyone.

"Not for a while," I say, lying to Kate. Lying is like a second nature to me these days.

"I'm worried about her," Kate says. "She would be very pregnant at this point. We don't even know if it's a girl or a boy."

"I'm sure she's fine, Kate. We can't spend our lives worrying." I know for a fact that Sun doesn't even know if it's a girl or a boy. I turn back to Sayid and Nadia. "How was your honeymoon?"

"It was lovely," Nadia says. "Very private, very beautiful."

"And what about you two? You gonna have any little kids of your own?"

"Maybe," Nadia says. "But right now, we're happy with just the two of us."

Nadia knows nothing of the truth. She believes the same lie that the Oceanic Seven told the rest of the world. I wonder how their relationship functions with this big secret between the two of them.

I like Nadia a lot, but I've always kind of resented her. Sayid loved Shannon. He buried her on the Island. Mourned her for days. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone but Boone, but maybe that's because I don't have a long lost Iraqi love waiting for me. If Gibbs were alive, would I go for it and disregard the only true love I've ever felt in my life? I don't know the answer, and it doesn't help with my Sayid/Shannon/Nadia thing in my head.

"How is your sister-in-law?" Sayid asks me.

"She's great. Due in two months. It's a girl."

"Aww, you're gonna have a niece? That's so exciting!" Kate says.

"Yeah, it sure is. How's Jack doing?"

"Oh, he's just being Jack. We honestly don't talk as much as I'd like, but what can you do?" Aaron takes this moment to spit up and Kate excuses herself and goes inside to clean him up.

This leaves me alone with Nadia and Sayid, standing awkwardly with nothing to talk about. Without Others to chase, or working to find a way off the Island, Sayid and I really don't have anything in common anymore, and when we're alone or it's just us and Nadia, it gets super awkward. "I'm gonna order another drink," I say, heading towards the bar, leaving them before they can say anything. I get to the bar and order a scotch, sending it down my throat with its sting.


	9. Day 96: Very Sick

"What happened?" Sun asks, running up to Kate and I before the sun has risen. I've been awake for over twenty-four hours and I'm like a zombie.

"You mean before or after the redhead knocked me out?" Kate responds to Sun bitterly.

"She hit you?"

"When I ran into them on my way back from Locke's camp."

"Why would she do that?"

"I guess she didn't wanna have to explain why she was on her way to a poison gas factory."

"Juliet told Jack and me that it was a power station." I say.

"Why would Juliet lie about that?" Sun asks me.

"Force of habit?"

"Why were they going there?"

"To turn it off, to deactivate the gas. I guess they wanted to earn some brownie points."

Sun looks between the two of us nervously. "Do you think they're really going to rescue us?"

I pause for a moment, exchanging a look with Kate. I don't want to alarm Sun, but at the same time, I don't want to worry her. I make my answer very vague. "In all the time they've been here they've talked about a lot of things, and none involved rescuing us."

* * *

><p>I take a short nap, enough to help my body stop wobbling when I stand up. But when I get up, Sun and Jin have something important to ask me.<p>

"I want to go to Locke's camp," Sun says, her hands on her stomach.

"Why would you do that?" I ask her.

"Because I don't trust these people. I don't want my baby around them. They are not here to help us. Can't you see that?"

"Alright, I'll draw you a map." I grab a piece of paper and a pen from inside my tent and start drawing a map to the Barracks to the best of my ability. "Once you hit the stream, you want to head northwest, pretty much in a straight line for about a day and a half."

"Thank you," Sun says, taking the map from me.

"Jack is gonna ask where you guys went, and I'm not going to lie to him. It would be hypocritical of me. But I'll give you guys a nice, long head start."

"I'd tell him myself, but he wouldn't understand," Sun says, staring at the map.

"No, he wouldn't." I give Sun a hug. "You'd better get going. Be safe okay?"

Sun and Jin turn around to leave, but they're stopped by Juliet. "She's not going anywhere. Sun, this is a bad idea."

"What concern is it of yours?" Sun counters.

Juliet turns to Jin. "Do you understand your wife's medical condition right now?" Jin stares at her with a confused face. "Translate for me," Juliet demands.

"No."

Juliet tries Jin again. "Your wife is very sick. If she doesn't get off this island in three weeks, she will die."

Sun says something to Jin and starts leading him away from Juliet. "If you let her go, your wife is in danger. Jin! Danger," Juliet yells.

Jin turns around. "Wherever Sun go, I go."

"Sun! Please," Juliet calls.

"Juliet, this is her choice. You need to let her go."

"Be quiet, Tia. This doesn't concern you. Jin. Your wife had an affair."

Sun turns around and my jaw drops at this new revelation.

"What?" Jin asks, confused.

"Sun was with another man. She thought the baby was his."

Sun walks up to Juliet and slaps her across the face. But when she turns back to Jin, he looks betrayed as he walks away.

Sun calls his name in Korean, but he doesn't look back. She runs after him.

"What the hell was that?" I ask Juliet.

"I told you, this is none of your business, Tia."

"Sun is my friend, which is a lot more than I can say for you. You read one file on her and expect to know everything about her and use it against her? You don't know the half of it."

"Did she ever tell you the truth?"

"Not outright, but I guessed. She was worried about the pregnancy, so I guessed that there must have been someone else. But I would never use that information against her, like you just did."

"Well, then, you must not care about her very much, because if Sun doesn't leave this Island in a month, her fetus will turn on her, and she will die."

Juliet walks away, following Sun's footprints in the sand.

* * *

><p>Later that night I find Sun and Jin sitting at their tent, talking happily. Sun decided not to go to Locke's camp. Jin decided to forgive her.<p> 


	10. Flashforward: A Baby and a Wake

July 2005

I received a phone call from Sun's assistant yesterday, informing me that she went into labor and that she'd be unable to meet me in Sacramento for our meeting.

I wasn't gonna miss the birth of Sun and Jin's baby. I called Oceanic and booked a fight to Seoul with my Golden Pass that I had received as part of my settlement from the crash. But in the terminal, I ran into someone I didn't expect.

"Hurley? What are you doing here?" He was as big as ever, only today for the first time in my life, I saw him wearing a suit. He looked very dapper.

"I wasn't gonna miss this, dude," he says to me. "I was actually hoping not to run into anybody, but you're okay. Let's get on the plane."

Multiple people on the flight recognize me and Hurley and most of them become agitated with not one, but two or the Oceanic Seven on one flight.

When we land in Seoul, it's about midday. Hurley and I catch a cab and it takes us to Sun's apartment. When she opens the door, she smiles at the two of us. "I can't believe you came all this way," she says.

"Are you kidding?" Hurley asks. "Is anyone else coming?"

"No," Sun says, shaking her head.

"Good. So... where is she?"

"Oh, it was a girl?" I ask. "What did you name her?"

"Ji Yeon," Sun answers with a wide smile. "Come with me."

Baby Ji Yeon lays in a crib, rubbing her eyes with her little fists. "She's awesome," Hurley says.

"Thank you," Sun reaches into the crib and pulls Ji Yeon out. "Would you like to hold her?" she asks Hurley.

"I don't know, I kinda have two left hands."

"I trust you," she says, handing him the baby.

"Wow," Hurley says, rocking her in his big arms. "She looks just like Jin."

"Yes," Sun agrees, a look of sadness over her face. "She does."

Hurley hands me the baby and I cradle Ji Yeon carefully. She's so beautiful. I think about baby Eliza, Gil's daughter who was born two weeks ago, a little early. My niece. So many wonderful things that I've received since I've gotten back to the real world. I hand Ji Yeon back to Sun.

"So I guess we should, like, go see him," Hurley says.

"Of course," Sun agrees. She exits the apartment and we follow her, hailing a taxi and zipping to a cemetery.

Jin's grave sits in the ground. Of course there's no body under it. There wouldn't be. Not after what happened to him. Sun had the tombstone set up as a kind of memorial. Something that Ji Yeon could visit. Something that Sun could visit.

After we pay our respects Hurley and I say goodbye to Sun. Back on the plane, booking our flights together this time, Hurley asks me if I'm planning on attending Jack's father's wake next week.

"No, I don't think so. No one really want me there any way. It's not like I knew Christian."

"Come on, dude. You missed your dad's funeral, right? Maybe you could treat this as something for him instead of Jack's dad. I really just don't want to go alone."

I nod my head. "Alright. I'll be there."

* * *

><p>Jack stands at a podium in a church, a large picture of his father, Christian beside him. "About ten months ago, I wrote what I wanted to say at my father's funeral on the back of a cocktail napkin at the Sydney airport. I don't remember what I wrote, but whatever it was he would've hated it." Everyone laughs at the joke. "My father couldn't stand eulogies. 'The only good thing about a wake is the free booze', he'd say." More laughter. "Not much of a wake because I won't even be able to bury him. So... What I wanna say is not for my father. It's for me. Good-bye, dad. I loved you. I miss you."<p>

After Jack's mother talks we disperse from the church and Jack and Margo thank me for coming. I exit the church and wait on Kate, who's my ride back to the airport. I'm not staying the night. I've got some business stuff to see to. Kate and Jack exit the church last, and Kate has a shocked look on her face as she approaches me. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing. We need to get you to the airport."

In the car, she hasn't calmed down. "Kate, what's the matter."

She takes a deep breath. "There was a woman at the funeral. I've never seen her before, but she told Jack something weird."

"What?"

"She said that she was Claire's mom. And that Christian was Claire's father."

It takes me a minute to grasp this information. "Jack and Claire are brother and sister?" I ask, confused.

"It would seem so."

I glance to the back seat, where Aaron is asleep in his car seat. "So that makes Jack Aaron's uncle."

Kate looks uncomfortable. "That's right."

"So that woman was Aaron's grandmother?"

"Tia, can we please not do this now?"

"When do you want to do it, Kate? Three months from now when I'm visiting LA and I stay in your guest room, where we do our best not to talk about anything?"

"What do you want me to say, Tia?" Kate says, pulling into the LAX parking lot. "That I'm sorry things aren't the same here as they were on the Island? Because I'm not. I know you and Hurley went to see Sun's baby. Did you think to invite me? No, you didn't and I know why. Sun doesn't want to see me. She doesn't want to see any of us. She blames Jack for Jin's death because Jack wouldn't turn around. And if that coasted me my friendship with her, then I'm okay with that. And you know what else? You haven't even asked me how I'm doing shaping my case with my lawyer for my murder trial. I guess I don't expect you to care though. Not when you're running one of the biggest investment companies in California."

I don't know what to say. "Kate, I—,"

"Whatever. You're gonna miss your flight."


	11. Day 97: Beeps and Boops

"Help! I need some help! Help!" I hear a voice call from the beach. I run out of my tent and Bernard is at the shore of the ocean, Vincent barking at his side. I run toward him, noticing most of the camp, and Jack and Kate doing the same. "The dog was barking. I didn't see him," Bernard explains.

In the water, a body washes up in the water. Jack, Bernard, and Jin help me pull it ashore.

"Do you know who this is?" Jack asks Daniel and Charlotte, who have shown up with everyone else.

"He was on our boat," Dan answers. "He's the doctor."

Jack bends down to examine the doctor's body. "His throat was slit. Know anything about that?"

"No," Dan says. "Uh, he was fine when I last saw him."

"Which was when?"

"When? 'When' is kind of a relative term."

"We don't know anything about this," Charlotte says.

"Any luck fixing the sat phone?" I ask Dan.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, no. The, uh, the mic was smashed up pretty good. Best-case scenario, we'd only be able to broadcast tone squelch. Beeps and boops."

"Well, yeah, but you could still use it as sort of a telegraph, right?" Bernard asks.

"If I had some strips of ferrous metal, uh, a 9-volt battery clip and some wiring."

"We got a bunch of stuff that we salvaged from the plane," Kate says. "I'll show you where it is."

The rest of the camp disperses, leaving me with Jack, Bernard, and Charlotte. "Bernard, you got a second?" Jack asks him.

Jack leads Bernard away from Charlotte. I follow them. "What do you know about telegraphs?" Jack asks Bernard.

"Um, not much about building them, but I do know Morse Code. Learned it for fun when I was a kid."

"What about you?" Jack asks me.

"Morse Code? Don't know it. Never had to learn."

"Alright, here's the plan. When Faraday sends whatever signal he's going to send, Bernard, I need you to be there. Don't let anyone know that you know Morse Code. If he tells the truth, fine. But if not, we need to call him out on it."

"Got it," Bernard says.

"I can't believe it," Daniel says as he fiddles with the phone that night in the kitchen. "We might actually have a signal." He starts sending a series of taps through the broken phone.

"What are you sending?" Jack asks.

Dan continues tapping. "What... happened... to... the... doctor?"

A series of taps comes through the other end. Dan nods his head. "Okay. They didn't exactly say what happened to the doctor, but your friends are fine, and the helicopter's coming back in the morning."

Jack turns to Bernard. "Well?"

"He's lying," Bernard says, and the camp gasps. "What the message said was, 'What are you talking about? The doctor is fine.'"

"You know Morse code," Dan says nervously.

"What does that mean, 'The doctor is fine'?" Jack says, advancing on Faraday.

"I don't know."

"Why are you lying? Why did you say that the helicopters are coming back?" Jack grabs his shirt as Kate protests. Me? At this point, I've got no problem with violence. "Were you ever gonna take us off this island?" Jack asks.

"No," Faraday says.

Jack lets go of his shirt, looking defeated. He starts to walk away, but then collapses in pain, holding his side and grunting.

"Jack," Kate exclaims, going to help him. But he pushes her away, regaining his footing and walks towards his tent, clutching his side.

I recognize the spot he's clutching, and it is not good.


	12. Day 98: Rupture

People, namely Bernard and Rose, have started to confront Faraday and Charlotte about last night's message from the boat and Faraday's revelation of the boat's goal not to rescue us. "Maybe we should get Jack," I say to Juliet, who nods and goes to get Jack from his tent, who's slept in this morning. Though, how he's sleeping through all of this racket, I don't know.

I saw him clutching his abdomen last night, right over that sweet spot of the appendix. He's a doctor, and he probably knows what's going on, but for all of our sakes, I hope he miraculously recovers.

"I want the truth!" Bernard shouts at Faraday.

"I don't know," he says nervously, stroking his tie. "That's the truth. I'm telling you, I don't know why, but there's no signal now."

"Signal? What, there was a signal when you called them last night."

"That's right," Rose says, backing up her husband.

"So what? Now they're just ignoring us?"

"How are we supposed to know why they're not answering?" Charlotte counters. "And in case you haven't noticed, we're not on the bloody boat, are we?"

"Just watch your tone, Red," Rose snaps.

"I just wanna know why," Bernard asks again.

"Hey!" Jack says, coming up to the group, looking very pale. "Everybody just needs to calm down, okay?"

"Jack, these people are lying to us," Bernard says.

"I know they're lying. I know it. Sooner or later, their people are gonna come back for them, and when they do, we'll be waiting for them."

"Unless they run off again," Sun says.

"Listen to me," Jack says, losing his balance for a moment.

"Jack, are you all right?" I ask him.

"No, I'm fine. We just have to be patient, okay? I've gotten us this far. I said I was gonna get us off the Island. All of us. I promised that I would."

Jack starts to walk away, but then he doubles over in pain, clutching his stomach, breathing rapidly. Oh god, I hope this isn't it. If that appendix ruptures…

Juliet and I exchange a look of worry as we both pick up Jack and carry him to his tent, while everyone else at camp nervously calls Jack's name and asks what's wrong.

* * *

><p>Jack's episode passes after about twenty minutes. "You know what's wrong," Juliet says to me.<p>

"I'm not positive, but I'm guessing his appendix."

"Your right," she says. "But he'll never admit it. I'll go check on him."

"No, let me. He might admit it to someone he dislikes, just to try and be smarter."

"He doesn't dislike you," she says.

"Excuse me?"

"Jack admires you. If anything, I think he's jealous of you. The way people listen to you when you talk and your loyalty. Trust me, Jack doesn't dislike you."

I'm shocked at her sudden spew of complements and it takes a minute before I find my voice to respond. "Thank you, Juliet."

"Don't mention it."

I head over to Jack's tent and open the flap. "Knock, knock."

He groans. "I hate being sick," he says.

"What do you think it is?"

"It's food poisoning."

"What makes you think that?"

"I've got some cramping, dehydrated, nausea."

I bend down next to him. "I think your wrong," I say bluntly.

Jack chuckles. "Do you?"

"Or I think that you're denying the truth. You want to lift your shirt up?" I ask. Jack tries to avoid it. "If it's food poisoning, you got nothing to worry about."

Jack gives in and leans back, pulling up his tee-shirt. I feel around his abdomen, and when I reach the sweet spot, he winces. "It's your appendix, Jack. When did the pain start?"

"Yesterday."

"Has it ruptured?"

"Not yet."

"Well," I hear Juliet say from outside of the tent. "I guess we're just gonna have to take it out."

I reopen the flap and stare at her. "Excuse me?"

"What, are we just going to let him die?" she asks.

"You know I don't want that, but how are we supposed to take out his appendix? We don't' have any sterile environment, not equipment, no anesthetic. Juliet, I don't see how this is possible."

"But we do have all of that stuff," she says. "The medical station, where you and Kate took Claire, Everything we need is there. We can clean large pieces of wreckage to use as a surgery table."

"But what about anesthetic? He's just gonna lay there, while you cut out one of his major organs?"

"There should be some kind of chloroform at the station. We can do this, Tia."

"While you two are discussing my imminent surgery," Jack says. "You haven't even asked me if it's okay."

"You wanna die?" Juliet asks him.

"Fair point," he concedes.

* * *

><p>Juliet has written up a list and handed it to Sun. "Do you remember where the medical station is or don't you?"<p>

"Yes, I remember."

"These are the instruments that I need you to bring back. You'll find them in the drawers in the exam room."

"'Clamps'? 'Sutures'? Juliet, I don't know what these look like," she says, ogling the list.

"I can help you," Faraday says, stepping forward. "I'm familiar with surgical instruments."

"I thought you were a physicist," I say to him suspiciously.

"Yeah, well, I've done some animal autopsies, too."

"No," Jin says.

"We can't trust them," Sun agrees.

Charlotte lets out a huff. "See, Dan? I told you. They're convinced we're trying to kill 'em. Might as well keep playing the part."

"Damn it, Charlotte. That right there, that right there. Your attitude — your very bad attitude — it's exactly why they don't trust us." Faraday turns back to me. "Tia, please. Don't blame us for this, for whatever is happening. We're scientists. We don't want anyone to get hurt. We just wanna help. Please let us help."

Reluctantly I nod to Juliet, who hands him the list. I reach around my back and grab my glock, handing it to Jin. "If either of them tries to run, shoot them in the leg," I pause and he nods him head, understanding. I turn to Sun. "Get back here as fast as you can."

"Okay."

"Thank you," Faraday says, taking off.

"Back to you, boss," I say to Juliet.

"We need to create a sterile environment," she says to the group. "Find a hard surface, wash it down, gather as many tarps as you can."

"Hey Juliet," Kate says, walking forward. "If everything that we need is at the medical station, then why don't we just bring Jack there?"

"Because if we move him, there's a good chance that his appendix will rupture. And if that happens, he's gonna die."

* * *

><p>Bernard has found a large piece of wreckage that's perfect for the procedure. As I help him carry it over to the camp, Rose has boiled some water and is ready to wash it down. "Honey," Bernard says to her, noticing her worried face. "I am sure Jack is gonna be okay. An appendectomy is just about the most common kind of surgery there is, right Tia?"<p>

Not that I know too much about it, but he's right. I nod my head, trying to place a comforting look on my face, even though I'm terrified as well.

"That's not what I was thinking about," Rose says. "I was thinking, 'Why did he get sick?'"

"Why?" Bernard asks, confused. "It's just…it's just bad luck."

"The day before we're all supposed to be rescued, the person that we count on the most suddenly comes down with a life-threatening condition, and you're chalking it up to bad luck?"

"Well, what are you saying, that Jack did something to offend the gods? People get sick, Rose."

"Not here. Here, they get better."

Bernard smiles at his wife. "I'm going to go grab another bucket."

"Rose what did you mean just then?" I ask her.

"I have cancer," she says, and my jaw drops. "No, not like that, sweetie. I had cancer. But this place," she says looking out into the jungle, then the ocean. "It's like it's healed me. There's nothing bad left inside me."

"Rose, Bernard is right. People get sick. The Others? They captured Jack because Ben needed surgery to remove a tumor on his spine."

"I don't have an explanation for that, but this Island has done everything for me. When you have something inside of you, something that's not supposed to be there, you can feel it. Like a parasite inside your body. But when we crashed here, when I woke up, that feeling was gone. And I'm not the only one who's felt it."

I nod my head. Rose is the kindest, sweetest person I've met, but she's stubborn as a mule. And if she thinks this place has saved her, then so be it.

* * *

><p>"We've got a problem," Juliet says. "Jack wants Kate in the surgery room with us."<p>

"He's gonna be knocked out anyway. What's the big deal?"

"He wants to talk me through the surgery. He says Kate can hold a mirror and he'll be able to walk me through, step by step."

"But you know what you're doing, right?"

She smiles. "Try telling Jack that."

"He's not going to be able to do this," I say. "No one has that kind of pain tolerance."

"He says we can use lidocaine."

I shake my head. "This isn't gonna work."

"I know. But I think we should just give him what he wants. It'll be easier on all of us not to fight a losing battle."

* * *

><p>Inside the surgery tent, I'm having a weird flashback to the tent we set up to fix Boone. And I remember all too well how that one worked out.<p>

Jack lays on the wreckage, his shirt off and stomach neatly shaved. I'm whipping the area of incision with antiseptic. "You know, Jack, they found some chloroform at the medical station," I say to him. "I could knock you out. Wouldn't you rather be dreaming about something nice back home?"

"No, I'll manage with the lidocaine," he says. Juliet was right. A losing battle. I grab the syringe of lidocaine and start flicking out bubbles. I eye the bottle of chloroform. I could knock him out without his permission…

"Kate," Jack says as she enters the tent, holding a vanity mirror. Juliet is here, getting her supplies ready. I start injecting Jack with the lidocaine.

Jack reaches up and adjusts the mirror Kate is holding. "Just hold it right there."

I roll my eyes. Stubborn doctors. "Okay," I say, adding the last shot. "Now this is gonna numb the area of the first incision. After that, well, I hate to be blunt, but you're gonna feel it." I lay down the syringe and get ready to hand Juliet her supplies.

"You ready?" Juliet asks, snapping her own latex gloves on. "Okay. Here we go." She grabs the scalpel and makes the first incision. It doesn't look too painful for Jack but when she starts the second, he grunts with pain. "Okay, Jack. One more," she says. This time, Jack actually exclaims a sound of pain louder than a grunt. He starts to retract from the scalpel, his human nature pulling him away from the pain. "Okay, try not to move," Juliet tells him. He grunts again. "Just stay still. Spreader," she demands, holding out her hand for me to place it there. I look for it at the table. Juliet gave me a quick run through of surgical items before we began. I knew most of them, but I don't work with a lot of these often.

"Kate, I—I can't see it," Jack says, worried about the mirror.

Kate apologizes and tries to adjust it.

"Don't worry about the mirror. Just stay still. Spreader," she says to me again. I recognize it and hand it to her.

Jack tells Kate that the mirror is good as Juliet inserts the spreader into his abdomen. But that's where he loses it. He starts grunting in pain, his reflexes trying to get him away from Juliet.

"Knock him out, Tia," Juliet says to me. I move to the bottle of chloroform. I struggle to get everything together as she argues with Jack and tells Kate to get out of the tent. Juliet soon loses her temper and I hear Kate start to cry. I've almost got the chloroform ready. Juliet calls my name several times.

"Kate. Kate, get outta here! Damn it, Tia! Knock him out!" Juliet yells.

"I'm sorry, Jack," I say, putting the soaked cloth over his mouth. He struggles out a protest, but it's too late. His eyes close. Kat leaves the tent, crying large wet tears out of her eyes. I've never seen her lose it like that.

Juliet is great throughout the rest of the surgery. She manages to pull out the organ and put everything back without Jack losing too much blood.

* * *

><p>I see Kate sitting in front of the ocean, staring out, her eyes still slightly swollen. "Hey," I say, sitting down beside her. "Don't worry. It went well. She did good. She said you could go back inside if you want to."<p>

Kate thanks me and heads toward the tent.


	13. Flashforward: The Course of A Year

October 2005

"Please, I just want to bury my wife in peace," Sayid's voice rings out from the television, full of sorrow. Nadia died last week, run over by a car. I never read gossip about the Oceanic Seven. Never watch us on TV. But Sayid…I want to be there for him in his time of loss. And I can't.

* * *

><p>January 2006<p>

"Almost thirty minutes now since the start of this high-speed chase. We still have no information about who's driving this vehicle. Jeff, can you tell us where the chase started?" I'm holding my niece Eliza, babysitting for Gil and Sonja as they take a day for themselves as I watch the news.

"We're getting reports that the pursuit began near the La Brea area, then travelled to a warehouse in the district south of the ten freeway."

"Can you see how many people are in the car?"

"It would appear to be just the one, the driver. We're not sure if that's the owner of the car. What you're seeing here are pictures of the ten freeway, south of downtown."

"Is that a Camaro, Jeff?"

"Yes, yes it looks like a vintage early 70's model."

The news crew has a helicopter over the chase, and I recognize that Camaro all too well. What the hell is he doing?

I grab my phone out of my pocket, maneuvering around Eliza and I open the contact number labled _Kate Austen_. But I don't dial. I can't bring myself to dial.

* * *

><p>August 2006<p>

_Oceanic Seven Survivor Kate Austen: 10 Years Probation. No Jail_ Time the newspaper read, front page, showing a picture of Kate wearing dark sunglasses, walking into a courtroom.

Well, good for her.

* * *

><p>September 2007<p>

"Hello," I say, answering my phone.

"Ms. Tia Samuels?" an unknown voice asks.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"This is Dr. Bill Stillman at Santa Rosa Mental Institution. I believe you know one of our patients."

"Um, Dr. Stillman, my brother was released from Santa Rosa almost three years ago. Maybe you've pulled the wrong file."

"I'm sorry Ms. Samuels, this isn't about your brother this is about our patient Hugo Reyes."

"Wait, Hugo Reyes is a patient in your ward?"

"Yes, and he is refusing to take his required medication."

"Can't you, like, slip it into his food or something?"

"With all due respect, Ms. Samuels, I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation. Mr. Reyes has demanded to see you before he takes his meds. I'm afraid I had to concede. Let him see you."

"Doctor, I live in Sacramento—,"

"I understand that this may be an inconvenience for you, but I would appreciate it if you came. As would Hugo."

* * *

><p>"Hey Hurley,"<p>

"Hey, Tia."

I sit down in the wooden chair next to his bed. He's playing a game of chess with apparently no one.

"Why aren't' you taking your meds, Hurley?"

"How come you're gone all the time?" he asks.

"Well, Hurley, I run a business. And everything that happened with Kate, that fight we had, I guess I just started to distance myself."

"How come you're not wearing it?"

"Wearing what?"

"Boone's necklace."

I reach up and touch the bare skin of my neck. "Um, I don't know. I guess I just didn't put it on this morning."

"Yeah, Boone says you haven't been wearing it for a long time."

"What?"

"You heard me," he says.

I take a deep breath. What is he doing? Maybe he really is crazy. "Hurley, Boone is dead."

"I know. But he visits me sometimes. Charlie too. Actually, a lot of dead people."

"Hurley, what are you talking about?"

"Charlie visits me the most. He likes to sit with me on that bench out there," he says, pointing.

"Okay, Hurley. Why do dead people visit you?"

"I don't know. But Boone's been visiting me because he wants to send you a message." Hurley turns his head to me. "He wants to stop. Stop the company. Stop cutting yourself off."

I feel extremely uncomfortable. "Hurley, this isn't funny."

"I'm not joking, dude."

"Hurley, why are you doing this?"

"Because Boone asked me to."

"No, Hurley. Everything I'm doing. I have a plan. And you have to trust me."

"Maybe if you actually told me what your plan was, dude."

I take a deep breath. "Okay. Sun and I…our fathers were business partners with Charles Widmore. And Sun…she thinks he's a link to Benjamin Linus."

"Why do you want to get to Ben? I thought he was on the Island."

"No, not anymore. She found him. He was spotted outside of a church here in LA."

"Why do you guys want to find Ben?"

"Because Sun blames him for Jin. And I've lost everyone but her. I have to help her." I stand from the chair. "Take your meds, Hurley."

I walk out of the building, escorted by Dr. Stillman. When I'm outside my car, pulling my keys out of my purse I see something in the reflection of the glass behind me. A pair of familiar, striking blue eyes. I turn around quickly. He's not there. He'll never be there.

* * *

><p>October 2007<p>

"That's it, Tee," Donny says, bringing me a plate of pasta.

"What's it?" I ask, taking a large bite and skimming over the pictures. The teenage face of Walt Lloyd is printed on it.

"The business. You said you were gonna disband it. You said that two years ago. And now, it's taken over your life."

"It has not."

"Tia, what did you order for lunch?"

"Risotto," I say, looking down at the pasta. "Oh."

"Yeah. You've got a problem. What happened to you out there? Ever since you've gotten back, it's like you're a different person."

"Donny, you hadn't seen me in a year and a half. I'd been to war and back before I was even in the crash. I went through stuff you can't even imagine. Then the crash…it was awful. Everything that happened there…I just want to forget it."

"That's what you say every time it's brought up. That you just want to forget it. But I don't know what you want to forget."

I grab the folders of Walt taking another bite of pasta and standing. "I've got to go. I'll see you later. I'm flying to New York tonight."

* * *

><p>I landed in JFK Atlantic early in the morning and I make my way across Manhattan to P.S. 154. There he is. My old friend Walt Lloyd. He's no longer that gangly ten year old Boone and I snuck off to throw knives. He looks so adjusted. So good.<p>

And if Ben is back in town, I can't let him get to Walt.

I notice Walt spot something across the street and leave him friends, walking towards it. I follow his walk over to a man in a wheelchair.

What the hell is he doing here? How is this possible?


	14. Day 100 Part 1: Old Friends

Last night, something crazy happened. A satellite phone fell from the sky. And Jack made everyone wait until morning to worry about the situation. And now, everyone stands on the beach, worrying about our new message.

"It was Sayid and Desmond in the helicopter, right?" Rose speculates. "I mean, it had to be. Why else would they have dropped that thingamabob right over us?"

"Then why wouldn't they just land?" Sun asks.

"I don't know, but this thing is tracking the chopper," Jack says, holding the phone. "So if they were on it, they want us to know where they're going."

"It's a phone, right? Can't we just call?" says Sun.

"Well?" Jack asks, turning to Faraday. He nods and Jack hands him the phone. "Don't try anything stupid."

"Understood." He pushes some buttons and gets us a signal.

"Put it down over there," a voice shouts.

"Is that from the chopper?" I ask. Faraday shushes me.

I hear Frank's voice. "We're still five clicks from the site."

"I said put it down, Frank. Okay, gear up, boys. Soon as we hit the ground, we deploy to the Orchid. Heads down! Let's do this."

The phone loses its signal and we just hear static. Jack turns to Juliet. "You know what the Orchid is?"

"No. I didn't hear Desmond or Sayid either," she answers.

"Kate, Tia," Jack says to us, clearing his throat. "Wanna take a walk?"

"Absolutely," Kate says. "I'll get water."

"Jack, I don't know if this is such a good idea, you just had surgery."

"I agree," Juliet says.

Jack rolls his eyes. "Tia, can you go get the guns?"

Juliet continues to argue with Jack, but I know it's pointless. Jack is too stubborn.

I grab the guns from where we hid them. Kate returns with water for three. Jack had blown off Juliet. We head out into the jungle.

* * *

><p>We make our way through the jungle. The phone has a tracking system on it, kind of like when we were searching for the team when Faraday landed. "We're catching up," Jack says. "The chopper must've landed."<p>

"Well, if it's landed, it's not going anywhere," I say to him. "Let's take a break."

"I don't need a break," Jack says.

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "You're bleeding," I say, pointing at his stomach, the blood seeping through his shirt.

"No, I'm not bleeding," he says, taking a drink of water. "I'm suppurating. It's discharge. My body's just fighting the infection around the stitches."

I roll my eyes at Kate. "You know when most people are lying and they can't look you in the eye?" Kate asks him. "You do the exact opposite."

I laugh and behind the bushes, I hear wood snap. My gun is in the air before Jack and Kate, who follow my example, pointed at the bush.

Our old friend Miles walks through the brush. "Hey, long time no see," he says, raising his arms at the guns.

I hear the baby cry. Sawyer comes through, carrying Aaron in his arms. "Hey, who are you talking to up there, Genghis?" he asks. His eyes widen as he sees my party of three.

"Where's Claire?" I ask him as Kate moves forward to take Aaron from him.

"We lost her," Sawyer says.

"You what?" Jack asks, shocked.

"She just walked off in the middle of the night. We looked for her for a day, but she was just gone. I was hoping maybe she went back to the beach."

"She didn't," Jack says.

"Well, what are y'all doing out here? What's that phone for?"

"The chopper flew over the beach. Someone tossed this out. It must've been Sayid."

"Well, you better hope it ain't Sayid, 'cause if he's with those animals that just blew up half of New Otherton, you do not wanna tussle with 'em."

"What, they tried to kill you?" Kate asks, rocking Aaron.

"Just like Locke said they would."

"So... what? We're supposed to just turn around and hide? 'Cause it seems like that didn't work so well for you."

"I'm sorry, Doc, maybe this is déja vu, but didn't you just do the whole Run Through the Jungle With a Walkie plan?"

"That helicopter is our only way off this island," Jack says as Aaron starts to cry louder.

"What's with you and getting off the island? You're like a damn broken record."

"Stop it!" Kate yells. "Are you two fighting each other now?"

"Look. I put Sayid and Desmond on that chopper. It was my call. It's my responsibility," Jack says, that guilty look on his face. "I'm going after it whether they're on it or not. You can all head back to the beach."

"Jack... no, no, no," Kate protests. "You can't go by yourself."

"Take care of the baby. Okay?"

The three of us exchange a glance as Jack ignores her and heads through the trees. Sawyer lest out a breath. "That son of a bitch is stubborn. Hold up! You don't get to die alone. You coming, Brown Eyes?"

I let out a breath. "Do I have a choice?"

* * *

><p>Another two miles and Sawyer is getting bored. "Cut yourself shaving?" he asks Jack, noticing the stitches.<p>

"Juliet and Tia took out my appendix a couple of days ago," he says, looking at the phone.

Sawyer turns back to me. "You kidding me?"

I shake my head. "Nope."

"Well, what else did I miss?"

Before I can answer, a loud banging comes out of the trees. "We're here," Jack says, looking at the phone. We break through the trees and we find the chopper and someone handcuffed to the vehicle. "Lapidus!" Jack calls, making Frank jump.

"Yeah!" Frank grunts, banging in his cuffs.

"You know this yahoo?" Sawyer asks, and I nod.

"'Yahoo'?" Franks exclaims, offended. "This yahoo dropped that phone on you guys so you could find me and I could fly you outta here. So why don't you do me a favor and get that back compartment? There's a toolbox. See if you can find something to get me outta these things."

"You heard the man," Jack says to Sawyer.

"Well, all right. Can I get you boys a nice, cold glass of lemonade while I'm back there?"

"Where are Sayid and Desmond?" I ask Frank, ignoring Sawyers jabs.

"Your buddies were smart enough to keep their asses on the boat because right now that's the safest place to be. Because when the boys that I brought over here come stomping out of this jungle, you're gonna wanna be long gone."

"Where'd they go?" Jack asks.

"They're up by some greenhouse, perched up there, waiting to snatch Linus."

"Soon as we cut you free, you'll be able fly us out of here?"

"Hell, yeah," Frank says, and Jack exhales.

"Hang on, Shaggy," Sawyer says, holding the toolbox. "You said the hit squad's gonna grab Ben Linus?"

"Well, I don't see what's gonna stop 'em," Frank says.

"What are they gonna do with the people that are with him?"

"Nothin' good."

Sawyer takes a deep breath then turns to Jack and I. "Hugo's with Ben."

"Son of a bitch!" Jack says, frustrated. "Where are they headed?"

"That way," Frank says, pointing. He drops hos hand and moves for the toolbox. Jack, Sawyer and I head that direction.

* * *

><p>"You sure we're going the right way?" Sawyer asks about thirty minutes later.<p>

"Lapidus said they were headed northeast," Jack says, his walk a little staggered.

"Jack, you need to slow down. You're losing a lot of blood." I tell him.

"I'm fine."

"Of course you're fine. You're always fine," Sawyer says.

We've come upon a large overgrown building. Frank said it was a greenhouse, but it doesn't really look like one, unless the DHARMA Initiative created a greenhouse just for growing weeds. "Is this it?" I ask, confused.

"I don't know," Jack says, looking over the building and catching his breath.

"So what's the plan, Sundance?" Sawyer asks.

"The plan is we wait til—,"

Behind me I hear a zipper. I know I'm not the only one who heard it, because Jack and Sawyer's guns are up as fast as mine.

"Hugo?" Sawyer asks, surprised. I lower my gun.

"Sawyer!" Hurley exclaims, zipping his pats back up.

"You all right?" Sawyer asks, unusually concerned.

"Dude, you came back. How'd you know where I was?" Before Sawyer can answer Hurley notices Jack and I, standing behind Sawyer, trying not to make the situation awkward. After all, it was Hurley who separated the groups in the first place.

"It's good to see you, Hurley," Jack says and I offer up a small wave.

"Yeah. Yeah, dudes. You, too."

"So where the hell is he?" Jack asks, referring to Locke. Wherever Ben is, we're sure to find John Locke.

"He's over here," Hurley says, leading the way behind an entrance into the greenhouse. Inside, John Locke is looking behind some of the plants. "Locke," Jack greets him.

"Hello Jack."

"What are you doing here?"

"There's a DHARMA station below us, and, um, I'm looking for a way to get in."

"Get in and do what?"

"Hugo, James, Tia, would you mind if I spoke to Jack alone?"

I don't want anything to do with another DHARMA station. Not after all of the crap we went through with the Swan, the Flame, and the freaking Door. Don't get me started on the Door. "Don't bother," Jack says, stopping the three of us from turning around. "We just came back for Hurley. Let's go."

We all start to leave, but Locke stops us. "Jack, you need to hear what I have to say."

Jack, severely pissed off, turns back around and walks up to Locke. "What I need to do is to walk back to the chopper, get on it, and get the rest of our people off this island."

"Uh, dude, probably not the best idea right now," Hurley says. "Those Rambo guys are taking Ben to that helicopter. He surrendered himself to 'em about an hour ago."

"Now why the hell would he do that?" Jack asks, turning away from Locke.

"I should explain," Locke says. "Please, if I could just speak to Jack alone.

I look at Jack for his okay. He nods and I turn around, Sawyer and Hurley following me. WE sit outside of the door, Hurley pulling some crackers out of his pocket. "What the hell they talking about in there, anyway?" Sawyer asks.

"I don't know. Leader stuff?" Hurley says, but Sawyer just scoffs.

"Where'd you get that?" he asks Hurley, eyeing the crackers.

"Came from a box Ben dug up out of the ground. They're good," he offers one to Sawyer and then to me. I decline, wrinkling my nose. Who knows how long they were in the ground.

"Thanks for coming back for me," Hurley says.

"Ah, you got it," says Sawyer over his cracker.

"Claire and the baby okay?"

Sawyer just looks dejectedly at the ground. Before he can respond, Ben comes out of the trees.

"How the hell did you get away?" Sawyer asks him.

Ben ignores him and walks into the greenhouse. A minute later Jack comes out. "Kate and Sayid are at the chopper with Lapidus. Faraday is taking people to the freighter on a zodiac raft."

"Well, let's get to 'em," I say, plunging into the trees once more.


	15. Flashforward: Jeremy Bentham

I walk into my house and hear laughter from the kitchen. I recognize Gil's voice.

"What's going on?" I ask, entering the room, a sigh falling before my eyes that sends me into an immediate panic.

John Locke is sitting at my dining room table, sharing a pot of coffee with Sonja. Eliza is in her car seat and Gil comes through my kitchen door with a fresh pot of coffee.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I say to Locke, trying to keep my cool.

"Calm down, Tia. Jeremy was just telling us some stories."

"Jeremy?" I ask, confused.

"Yeah, Jeremy Bentham? Your old friend from the army?"

My eyes widen. "Right. Jeremy, can I speak to you in the living room?"

I don't wait for a reply. I walk to the living room and a tall, African American man is sitting on my couch, looking at the picture of Boone and I when we were babies.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask.

He doesn't answer my question. He just stands. "I will excuse myself to the kitchen. I believe is smell coffee."

I turn back to Locke. "What the hell are you doing here?" I ask.

"I came to talk to you."

"Obviously. Though, it looks like you came to charm my family with your scary body guard."

"Matthew? He's not my body guard. He's my driver." Locke pauses for a moment, and I walk over to my wet bar and pour myself a scotch. "You don't seem too surprised to see me," Locke says.

I take a sip of the scotch and turn back to him. I saw you two days ago in New York. Talking to Walt."

"Are you and Walt in touch? He didn't say anything."

"We're not in touch, I'm just keeping tabs on him."

"Why would you do that?"

"Did you know Benjamin Linus is off the Island? I assume you do. You probably got off of it the same way. How did you do that exactly?"

"That's not important."

"Then what is?"

"I need you to come back to the Island."

The hand holding the glass of scotch starts to tremble. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because the people you left behind? They're in danger. They need you."

"So why did you leave them, John?"

"I had to. To come here and get you back."

I down the rest of my drink in one fell gulp. "Get out of my house," I say.

"Tia, please."

"You and your bodyguard need to get out of my house. Stay away from my family, or so help me god, I will kill you, John. Just like I've wanted to since the night Boone died."

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," he says. He doesn't say goodbye. He calls Matthew to the door and Matthew wheels him out of the house.

I will never see John Locke again.


	16. Day 100 Part 2: Off the Island

"Sayid!" I call, running into his arms. He holds me for a moment, then turns to greet Hurley.

"Good to see you, Dude," Hurley says as they hug.

"Where's the baby?" Jack asks Kate.

"He's with Sun, and they should be at the freighter by now."

Sawyer moves to help Frank out of his handcuffs. "Are you okay?" I ask Sayid.

"I am fine, but we need to get off this Island and back to the freighter."

"Way ahead of you," I wink. "How are those cuffs coming?" I call to Sawyer.

"Hold you damn horses, Brown Eyes. I'm sawing with precision here." And indeed, Sawyer is using a hacksaw on Frank's cuffs.

"Sayid, how'd you get back?" Jack asks.

"I took the Zodiac from the freighter."

"Is it safe? A body from the boat washed up on the beach."

"It's safe now," Sayid assures us.

"All right!" Lapidus exclaims, finally free from the cuff. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

"After we drop everyone off at the boat, we can come back and look for Claire, right?" Hurley asks, getting settled in.

"Absolutely," Jack assures him.

"Hands and feet inside the vehicle!" Frank calls as the propellers start spinning. "Let's go for a ride!"

And soon we're high above the Island. I never thought I'd be happy to be inside a helicopter again.

Up in the air, we fly away from the Island, but I see no boat in the distance as Frank sets his course. "What's the matter?" Sayid asks him from the front seat.

"We're losing fuel," Frank yells.

"What?" Jack asks, leaning forward to hear him over the choppers noise.

"We're losing fuel! Look outside, tell me if you can see anything!"

I lean out my side of the chopper but I see nothing. I hear Sayid's voice yell "We have a fuel leak! A bullet must have pierced the tank!" so it must be on his side.

"We gotta find a place to set her down!" Frank says.

"No, don't land!" Jack tells him.

"What?"

"There's no fuel on the island! We've gotta get to the boat, or this chopper's useless!"

"I'm telling ya, I don't see the boat!"

"Well, then keep looking!"

Frank looks nervously out into the ocean, then around the interior of the chopper. "We gotta get every ounce of extra weight off this chopper now! Anything that's not bolted down, toss it out!"

I start grabbing everything I can find and send it out the door, but there's not a whole lot of stuff that hits the ocean. "Now what? Is that enough? Can we make it?" Jack asks.

Lapidus looks at his fuel gage. "I'd feel a hell of a lot better if we were a few hundred pounds lighter! Well, if we don't make it, we're still close enough to ditch it on the beach."

"Hey! Do not go back to the island!"

"We might not have a choice, Doc."

"Hey!" Sawyer shouts and he grabs Kate's ear and whispers something into it.

"Why are you telling me this?" Kate asks.

Sawyer doesn't answer. He just plants a kiss on her lips. "Just do it, Freckles," he says, letting her go.

Sawyer stands up and jumps out the chopper window and hits the water, hard. "Sawyer!" Kate calls, but I see his head resurface as he starts to swim back to the Island.

After a few minutes Sayid breaks the silence. "Where's the freighter?"

"I don't know. I stayed on course," Frank says. "They must have it on the move again."

"How much fuel?"

"Four, five minutes worth, unless somebody else wants to jump."

"As soon as we get to the boat, we'll go back for him," Jack says.

"Hey!" Hurley exclaims. "There it is! The boat! I see it! Behind us!"

Frank turns the chopper around and sends us toward it. As we get closer I see Desmond come out from the quarters, yelling and waving his arms. I can't understand him.

"Did he say 'bomb'?" Jack asks. But Frank keeps descending the chopper. "What are you doing?" Jack yells.

"I don't care what the hell he's screaming!" Frank retorts. "I'm flying on fumes! I gotta put this bird down!"

"No! Don't land!" I hear Desmond yell, but it's too late. We've hit the boat. He runs up to us in a panic. "No! No! Look, you don't understand! Jin and Michael are doing everything they can, but there's no time! You've gotta get off the boat now!"

"Wait, did you say 'Michael?'" I ask, confused. Does he mean the same Michael from our crash?

"How long till we can fly again?" Jack asks, ignoring the question.

"Somebody patch the other hole where the bullet came out!" Lapidus instructs.

"Give it to me. I'll do it," Des says, grabbing some duct tape.

"Here! Somebody pump some gas!"

"I'll handle the fuel," Jack says.

"Get that life raft right there!" Frank yells at me, and I grab the life raft from the edge of the boat.

I hear the baby crying and know that Sun must be here. I hear Kate tell her to get on the chopper. "Jin's below with Michael," Sun protests. "I can't—,"

"No, no, there's no time! There's no time. We have to go."

"I won't leave him!"

"Okay, I'll go get Jin," Kate says, running towards the quarter's door.

There's the biggest amount of hustle as Frank informs us we're ready to take off. And we need to go now, because the bomb will go off at any moment. Jack stops Kate from going to get Jin. The baby cries. The chopper starts up. Desmond is pulling me inside and buckling me down. Jack and Kate make it on the chopper. We take off. There's no Jin.

Sun starts to scream frantically for her husband. I see him come out to the deck, waving his hands, calling for us to come back. But Jack tells Frank no, and we keep heading toward the Island.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The biggest explosion I've ever witnessed sends the freighter up in flames. There's no way Jin could have survived. There's no way anyone could have survived.

Sun screams for us to go back, but Jack and Sayid hold her down, trying to calm her. Lapidus heads towards the Island.

They manage to get Sun calm but just as soon as that happens, a loud noise pulsates through the air, just like when the hatch exploded.

And right before my eyes, the Island…disappears. "Where's the island?" Frank calls. "Where the hell's the island?!"

"It's gone," Hurley says.

"Where the hell am I gonna land this thing?"

"There's another smaller island close by they took us to!" Jack calls.

Lapidus scoffs. "I got news for you, Doc. There's nothing but water in every direction!"

The engine of the chopper starts to sputter. "Doesn't matter now," Frank says, letting go of the controls. "That's it, people! We're out of fuel! Get your life vests on! We're going in! Brace yourselves!"

The wind starts blowing as we descend through the skies and into the water. I manage to shimmy my way into a life vest. "Desmond! The life raft!" Sayid calls and Des inflates it, pushing it into the water.

"Hold on!" Lapidus calls as we hit the surface, the chopper sinking quickly.

When we hit the water, I kick off from the chopper, sending myself forward. I resurface and look for the life raft, spotting it quickly and swimming over to it. Frank is already inside and pulls me up as everyone starts to panic, noticing that Jack's not here. But we spot him quickly in the water and he swims over, Kate pulling him up. But he's got another body with him.

"Desmond!" I cry, helping hoist him into the raft. He's unconscious. Jack regains his breath and everyone starts to panic, but I bend my head, placing my mouth on top of his, starting CPR. I pump his chest a few times, puff a few more breaths of air, and pump the chest again and…

Desmond regains consciousness, coughing up the water he swallowed. Jack pats me on the back with a "Well done."

Soon, darkness falls, encasing us in night on the surface of the ocean. "I can't believe he did it," Hurley says to me.

"Who did what?"

"Locke. He moved the island."

"No, he didn't," Jack says from the other side of the raft.

"Oh, really? 'Cause one minute it was there, and the next it was gone, so unless we, like, overlooked it, Dude, that's exactly what he did. But if you've got another explanation, man, I'd love to hear it."

Jack starts to respond but Lapidus cuts him off. "God almighty. There's a boat. There's a boat out there!" We all start shouting and its light turn to us. "Does it see us?" Frank asks.

"I think it does!" Desmond says, excitedly.

"It is! It's turning!" I yell in triumph.

"What?" Kate asks, cutting off our yelling and alerting us to something Jack said.

"We're gonna have to lie."

"Lie about what?" I ask.

"Everything, all of it, every moment since we crashed on the island."

"Jack," Lapidus says hesitantly. "Now I know I'm new to this group and everything, but isn't this the place where everybody starts jumping up and down and hugging each other?"

"Your freighter," Jack continues. "Those men came to the island to kill us, all of us. You said that our plane was discovered on the bottom of the ocean. Well, someone put it there. Someone who wants everyone to think that we're dead. So what do you think's gonna happen to us when we tell them that that wasn't our plane? What do you think's gonna happen to the people that we left behind?"

I notice the boat getting closer. "Jack, we can't," Kate says. "We can't pull it off."

"Just let me do the talking," he says as the boat gets extremely close.

I hear foreign words exchanged on top of the boat. I can't understand a word. I don't even recognize the language. All I can make out is "Ms. Widmore."

"Throw them a rope!" A British female voice calls down to us. "Take them 'round to the stern!"

"Penny?" Desmond asks, then starts to yell. "Penny! Penny!"

Desmond catches the rope that the boat sends down then crawls up and kisses the woman. I recognize her from Des's photo. Yup, that's Penelope. "Are you okay?" she asks him.

"I'm fine," he says, and I can't hear the rest as I'm hoisted up to the stern. "Uh... this is-this is Penny. This is, um, Kate and then Aaron," he says, introducing us all as we get to the top. "This is Tia," he says and Penny hold out her hand, but I grab her in a big hug, and, surprisingly, she hugs back. I move so everyone else can get on the boat.

Soon, he reaches Jack. "It's nice to meet you, Penny."

"Hi," she says, shaking his hand.

"But we need to talk."


	17. One Week Later

"What's this place called?" Hurley asks me.

"Membata."

"Membata. Why are we doing this, Dude? Sailing three thousand miles to another island?"

I take a deep breath. "Because it's the only way to keep them safe."

I crawl into our tiny life boat and grab a plank from one of Penny's crew mates to use as an oar. Jack says goodbye to Desmond and Frank as he follows me.

"All right. Let's go home," he says, grabbing his own metal plank.


	18. Somewhere Safe

Today: November 2007

"There you go," I say, handing the girl her napkin with my signature on it. Really, I'm just a normal person. What would you do with a napkin and my name on it, anyway?

She walks away and my phone goes off. "Hello?"

"Tia," a recognizable voice asks. "Have you read the paper?"

"Sayid," I say, stunned. "Where have you been?"

"I asked you if you've read the paper."

"Yes, I have. I know about Bentham."

"Good. Are you in Sacramento?"

"No, I'm in Los Angeles. I was supposed to meet Sun, but she must have missed her flight."

"Sun will have to wait. Can you get to Santa Rosa Mental Institution?"

"That's where Hurley is."

"I know. Can you get there?"

"I can be there in half an hour."

"I will meet you outside. Do not speak to anyone. Do not let yourself be noticed."

"Why am I doing this, Sayid?"

He hesitates for a moment. "We need to get somewhere safe."

* * *

><p><strong>LOST<strong>


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